
Class _E„±l_k. 
Book i3t^-^_ 



GopyrightN?. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSnv 



THE VANITY 

OF 

HUMAN GRANDEUR 



WITH SKETCHES OF AND TRIBUTES TO 

THE MEMORY OF PROMINENT 

PERSONS FROM EAST 

TENNESSEE 



By ETHEL RUSSELL 



1904 

GAUT-OGDEN CO., PRINTERS, 
KNOXVIHE, TENN. 






LIBRARY nf CONGfTESS 
Twu GuDles Received 
JUN 17.1904 

Cooyrleht Entry 

^Mvv. 3 0- (f of 
CLASS ^ XXo. No. 

COPY B 




COPYRIGHT, 1904 

BY 

ETHEL RUSSELL 



^ ^ ^ 



TO ALL WHO HAVE KNOWN SORROW AND BEREAVEMENT 

WHICH THE WORLD CANNOT CONSOLE, 

THIS VOLUME 

IS PRAYERFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR 



PREFACE 



" Mnltum in parvo " has been my motto in the prepa- 
ration of this volume, and its brevity, at least, will be admired 
by all who realize the value of time. In this short and busy 
life it is essential that the information which books contain 
shall be ready to hand and be presented in the clearest and 
briefest manner possible. The thoughts presented herein 
have been forged at the anvil of experience and carefully and 
patiently treasured during many long, weary days. We can 
not know a truth until we have felt it in our inmost life. 
We may study and read much, but knozv only what the 
heart feels. 

This subject first presented itself to me during school- 
life, and after long and diligent study I prepared and de- 
livered an oration on " The Vanity of Human Grandeur." 
From many lessons in life's school I have added notes to the 
oration until the accumulation will fill a volume. Many 
manuscripts have been made and preserved, but now dis- 
carded as non-essential, for it is easy to talk and write at 
length, but it requires thoughtful study to be brief. I rever- 
ence a;nd acknowledge help and inspiration from many who 
now enjoy the full fruition of their labors in the higher 
society of seraphs and the ransomed in glory, where they 
are in the midst of the grandeur they tried to describe while 
here among mortals. My conscience does not accuse and 
condemn me of plagiarism, and I have endeavored to present 
unhackneyed phrases and request critics to be sparing of 
severe censure of the unscrupulous exposition of some neg- 
lected subjects until their prejudices may be removed by a 
continued study of the Bible and history. 



VI PREFACE 

It has been said that there is no eighth commandment 
in art. Observation teaches that the path of the author is, 
at its best, with but rare exceptions, spiked with thorns. 
Their work is often unappreciated and precarious. To the 
sensitive nature the bahn of sympathy is often as necessary 
to the growth of the soul as the chimes of gold and silver 
are to temporal wants. 

Expecting onlv discouragement from mortals, I have 
long hesitated to present this book to the world, knowing 
there are already too manv superfluous books extant, but 
there is yet much to be said without delay, for it is too late 
when Charon comes to ferry the poor soul over the Stygian 
river, so freely I say some of them and risk the verdict of 
the Just Judge v/hom alone I call Master. 

After consultation with Divine and invisible spirits and 
the highest authority. I courageously launch my humble 
barque, and guided by the Divine Pilot I expect to anchor 
safely on " The Beautiful Isle of Somewhere." Alay these 
tributes to our dead and the treatise on Death comfort us 
and bear us up above trouble, adversity and earthly tempta- 
tions to the Heavenly heights. This work will have ac- 
complished its mission if it succeeds in inspiring" hope of 
Heavenly reunion, peace and happiness to the disconsolate 
of earth. Prostrate under the pangs of combined grief and 
remorse it is no consolation to read Homer or Dante in the 
original. Jesus wept, and pathetic tears, like the de\vs of 
heaven, revive the heart in the hour of anguish, but dry 
sorrow drinks the blood. The Divine Physician prescribes 
the only panacea for the wounds of the soul, and to Him I 
commend vou. 



INTRO DUCr lO N 



There is a legend which says that a lower peak said to 
the highest peak of the Alps mountains, " What do you 
see? " It replied, " I see nothing but fogs and mist." Cen- 
turies afterwards the lower peak said. " What do you see 
now? " The highest peak repHed: " I see men walking on 
the earth and they are building cities." Centuries passed 
away and the lower peak asked, " What do you see now? " 
The highest peak said, " I see the great cities of Thebes, 
Babylon, Corinth and Rome." Centuries more passed away, 
and the lower peak again asked, " What do you see now ? " 
The reply was, " I see that Thebes, Babylon, Corinth and 
Rome have perished ; they have crumbled into dust ; their 
inhabitants are dead ; and their pomp, and riches, and 
grandeur have faded from the face of the earth." 

All earthly riches and pleasures and splendors pass 
away. Only the soul is immortal. It lives forever. It is 
more valuable than all earthly things. Jesus said, " What 
will it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his 
own soul?" Read history and you will be convinced of the 
vanity of human grandeur. I have not read all of this book 
in the manuscript, but hope to read it when printed. I may 
not agree with all its author says, but I ask for it a thought- 
ful reading. Each must read and accept or reject for him- 
self. ]\Iay both the book and its author have that success 
which comes from truth and faithfulness. 
Very truly, 

W. T. RODGERS. 



THE 
VANITY OF HUMAN GRANDEUR 



CHAPTER I. 



This is a subject whidi might be embelHshed with the 
pomp of much description, yet I shall avoid exaggeration, 
and take my characters not all from the realms of romance, 
but shall present to you some real actors who have appeared 
upon the stage of life, for truth is stranger than fiction and 
possesses greater power to make us shudder when we con- 
template it. 

Marie Corelli says : " There is no need to invent fables 
now, — the fictionist need never torture his brain for stories 
either of adventure or spectral horror. Life itself, as it is 
lived among ourselves in all countries, is so amazing, swift, 
varied, wonderful, terrible, ghastly, beautiful, dreadful, and 
withal so wildly inconsistent and changeful, that whoever 
desires to write romances has only to closely and patiently 
observe men and women as they are — not as they seem, — 
and then take pen in hand and write the — Truth." 

Romances and love stories usually end in the same way: 
" They married and lived happily ever afterward." Mental 
comrades, spiritual affinities and physical mates may be 
happy, for true love is of the soul. Love is pure and divine ; 
it is not what the sensualist feels and the voluptuary does 
not know the meaning of the word. 

Every effort is made in forming matrimonial alliances 
to reconcile matters relating to fortime, but very little atten- 
tion is given to the congeniality of dispositions, or to the 
'iccordance of hearts. 



]0 

They who marry for beauty, wealth and convenience, 
bind themselves for that which may neither last nor please 
one year. 

William Penn said : '' Never marry but for love, but 
see that thou lovest what is lovely." 

There should be a union of souls, each should be a 
guardian-angel presiding over the life of the other, doubling 
their pleasures and dividing their cares. 

Every impartial observer will 'admit that there is a 
three-fold vanity in human life : disappointment in pursuit, 
dissatisfaction in enjoyment, and uncertainty in possession. 
When we look around us on the world, we behold a busy 
multitude, employing every method which ingenuity can de- 
vise; some the patience of industry, some the boldness of 
enterprise, others the dextirity of strategem. in order to 
achieve their piu'pose. 

Against the stream of events, both the worthy and the 
undeserving are obliged to struggle ; and both are frequently 
over-borne alike by the current. 

Where is the man who will declare that in every point 
he has completed his plan v.nd attained his utmost wish? 
Some may be so fortunate as to attain what they have pur- 
sued, yet none are completely happy by what they have 
attained. " To human lips it is not given to taste the cup 
of pure joy." One void opens in the heart as another is 
filled. On wishes, wishes grow ; and to the close of life it 
is rather the anticipation of what they have not than the 
enjoyment of what they have, which occupies and interests 
the most fortunate. 

Alexander wanted to conquer the world by his greatness ; 
he conquered it, and, inflated by his successes, he fancied 
himself a god, and after separating his soul and body by 
drunkenness or poison, he left this world to explore the 
shores of Eternitv. He wa-^ted life on everv side for the 



11 

lust of conquest, and having disturbed the world, he left it 
in a disorder that led to a century of crimes and bloody 
revolutions. 

Pleasure is often the near neighbor of pain ; affluence, 
of poverty ; victory may be the herald of defeat. The world 
alternately applauds and hisses. In the midst of the splendor 
of royalty many have found themselves traveling the road 
which leads through " the valley of the shadow of death." 

Great has been the fall, deplorable has been the death, 
of some of the world's most renowned characters, who be- 
held only the terrestrial side of things and raised their views 
to no higher objects than the succession of human contin- 
gencies and the weak efforts of human ability. 

What is known as the First Triumvirate rested on the 
genius of Csesar, the wealth of Crassus and the achievements 
of Pompey, who boasted that three times he had triumphed, 
and each time for the conquest of a continent. Crassus went 
to the East, hoping to rival there the brilliant conquests of 
Caesar in the West, but in the midst of the Mesopotamian 
desert he was slain and his head filled with melted gold that 
he might be sated with the metal he had so coveted during 
life. After the death of Crassus the world belonged to 
Cscsar and Pompey. The insatiable ambition of these two 
rivals terminated in the civil war, when Pompey was assas- 
sinated, and his head severed from his body and presented to 
Caesar, who turned from the sight with generous tears. 

Julius Caesar was now virtually lord of the Roman 
world. He was great as a general, yet greater if possible as 
a statesman, and projected vast undertakings, but all his 
plans were abruptly ended bv the daggers of assassination, 
drawn by his enemies and some of the lovers of the Republic, 
who thought he coveted the title of kino;. 



12 

" The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave. 
Await alike the inevitable hour. 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

Vanity and love of dress is man's second nature. Fash- 
ion is the prop of vanity, and people fritter away their time 
in hollow pursuit. The ape in man has the upper hand, and 
novelty of fashion is endless. Love of dress in itself, per- 
haps, need not become a sin, but there is that connected with 
it which can not but tend to the soul's ruin. It takes the 
place of better things and hides the true objects of life. The 
devotees of fashion waste their time, and when they die, not 
only good works do not follow them, but wasted opportun- 
ities stand around their bier. Dying men and women with 
souls to be saved, and whose bodies are soon to be turned 
into dust, before three worlds, indififerent to everything ex- 
cept the short-lived grandeur of earth, with the qtiestion of 
the soul's destiny submerged by the question of dress and 
dissipation. 

Thousands of parents sacrifice their sons and daughters 
to worldliness. They are taught to be in sympathy with all 
the formalities of society, and are inducted into all the hol- 
lowness of what is called fashionable life. Amid many of 
the glittering scenes of social life in Anierica, the breath of 
the sepulchre floats up through the perfume, and the froth 
of Death's lip bubbles up in the champagne. Few realize 
how fruitful of pain, and perhaps of eternal woe, is the mad- 
ness of dissijDation and the rage of amusement. To illustrate 
this I call your attention to Cleopatra, who was called " The 
Serpent of the Nile." Julius Cccsar and Mark Antony were 
completely fascinated by her dazzling beauty, enslaved by 
her enchantments, charmed by her brilliant wit, and in her 
company forgot ambition, hoi;or and country. She sailed in 
a gilded barge, with oars of silver and sails of purple silk. 



13 

The time was spent in a round of banquets, games and revel- 
ries, and it is said that the queen, at the close of a banquet, 
in order to win a wager that she could consume $500,000 at 
one meal, dissolved in a cup of vinegar a pearl of fabulous 
worth, and carelessly drank the costly fiuid. After Antony 
committed suicide, and Augustus Cjesar became master of 
the civilized world, she then sought to enslave him with her 
charms, but failing in this, and learning that he proposed to 
take her to Rome as a captive, she applied a poisonous ser- 
pent to her arm and thus ended her eventful life. 

Therefore we see that human grandeur ever tends to 
destroy itself by corrupting the heart. No worldly enjoy- 
ments are adequate to the high desires and powers of an 
immortal spirit. 

Many are the sources of amusement on earth for the 
beguiling of dull time, among which are the dance, the 
theatre, the saloon, the gambling-hall and the fashionable 
watering-places. People want to live, yet they constantly try 
to pass away the time and forget that it is time which yields 
the fullness of existence — be it in sorrow or in joy — and 
at the end of time stands Death, with hour-glass and sickle 
waiting for the last grains to run out." Many persons use 
their eyes to peer about in the dust, and never direct them 
heavenward. They do not seem aware of the starry sky 
above the clods of earth, so Death comes to them as an un- 
expected guest who will take no denial though one never 
prepared for him. You, whose life is yet in your hands, 
delav not to turn to Him who will save you ; for if Death 
surprise you on the road of despair with sins unforgiven, 
heaven and all its stars will fade away in the night that 
evermore must enwrap your soul. 

Those who have a hrni faith in the Gospel of Christ 
feel that this world, with all its grandeur, is but a probation- 
ary dwelling-place, and that Death is an angel of God. sum- 



14 

moning- the laborers to their harvest-home. Death is a dark, 
solitary way, which leads to a starless midnight to those who 
do not believe. 

Our condition is such that everything wavers and totters 
around us ; for life never proceeds long in a uniform train, 
but is continually varied by unexpected events. Prosperity 
rises by slow degrees, but the progress of evil and misfor- 
tune is rapid, and it requires no preparation to produce it. 

That good servant, but bad master, fire, can consume in 
a few moments the luxurious palace, which it cost much 
time and labor to erect. 

The prospect of the termination of our pleasures and 
pursuits is sufficient to mark our state with vanity. We pro- 
ject great designs, entertain high hopes, never to be realized 
on earth. 

A gentleman of honor, refinement and wealth was be- 
trothed to a beautiful and accomplished Christian lady. The 
wedding day was appointed and he had prepared a lovely 
home, never dreaming that there was another Home where 
she was also expected to enter, so how sad a change for him. 
from the highest joy to the deepest sorrow ! She had taken 
seriously ill, and instead of the merry marriage bell there 
was heard the solemn funeral knell. There lay his idol in 
the marble arms of Death, wrapped in her last sleep ; not the 
fitful sleep of disease, nor the refreshing slumber of health, 
but the still iciness of ruthless death. 

He saw the casket borne from the hearse and heard the 
subdued voice of the minister as he read : " Blessed are the 
dead which die in the Lord, that they may rest from their 
labors ; and their works do follow them." 

He saw the shrouded form lowered into its final resting- 
place, and then realized that ' in the midst of life we are in 
death." 



15 

He had been a skeptic, therefore he asked : " Are there 
no purer, higher enjoyments than earth can give, and if not, 
whv were we created to love each other and then to be separ- 
ated and go b&ck to senseless dust? " 

What lamp has philosophy hung in the sable chambers 
of the tomb? 

He then became convinced that it requires more faith 
to receive the attempted solutions of philosophy than Revela- 
tion, and that we must be willing to be guided along un- 
known paths by other light than that of reason, if we would 
dwell in the Holy City where all mystery shall be explained. 

Human nature shrinks appalled from death and all that 
accompanies it. In the silent cities of the dead, with their 
aisles of tombstones which mark the spot where lay the pale 
sleepers, the words, " For here we have no continuing city, 
but we seek one to come,"' seem to issue from the marble 
lips of the statues. 

In Heaven the brightest diadems will be worn by those 
who made this life the dressing-room of the soul and were 
instrumental in saving souls from the death that never dies. 



CHAPTER II. 

There is a picture of a procession of the men who have 
triumphed in Hfe. They are led by Alexander, Caesar and 
Napoleon, and the way is strewn with corpses, while the tri- 
umphants are applauded by a barbarous multitude who do 
not know what nor whom they praise and admire, except 
as one leads the other. 

The masses, now as in the past, usually prefer scenes 
of hoi^ror or transient splendor to those that teach intrinsic 
knowledge of nobler living. Before and since the time when 
five thousand wild animals were slain during the one hun- 
dred days' gladiatorial combats in the Collosseum in Rome, 
people have delighted in that which is not elevating and 
profitable, and thus becoming acquainted with crime and 
seeing it so often it loses its hideousness. 

Absorbing scenes and descriptions of woe and horror act 
as powerful depressants upon the mind and nerves, causing 
slumber to the undying worm of conscience. Some may 
think the theatre and the ballroom good places for worldly 
pleasures, where they may drown the cares of life for an 
evening, and they argue that it is harmless to thus beguile 
dull time, yet not many desire to go thence into the presence 
of God. 

In the storm, cyclone, and all catastrophes and calam- 
ities, as well as in the dispensations of His providence, God 
is warning us. In the loudest thunders of heaven, the Lord 
has said : " Therefore I say unto you, watch ; for ye know 
not the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh." 
Few, if any, of the thousands who have perished while seek- 
ing worldly amusements had an idea of being hurled into 



• 17 

eternity. With no thought of death and the future, in the 
midst of merriment and dissipation, many have been taken 
from the scenes of earth to the Judgment-bar of God. 

" The heart rejoices not when the shadows of death 
press upon it ; the face smiles not when the eye beholds the 
image of coming woe, and the ear hears the dread sounds 
of approaching doom." 

There is much to teach us that if we neglect God's warn- 
ing and reproof we shall certainly perish, and perhaps like 
many others — as quick as a flash of lightning. We must 
arouse from lethargy and improve our opportunities to rescue 
the perishing and comfort the dying, lest a sudden night 
descends upon the earth, when it is too late to appeal to God 
for mercy. 

Beware of the vision of Dante : " All hope abandon, 
ye who enter here." If something more sensational is 
required by all who reject the Saviour, they may receive a 
pass and ticket to the theatre of the nether world, which has 
the advantage of earth's theatres because all the pieces given 
are scenes of actual life and the actors present again on that 
stage the evil deeds of their earthly life. 

All who have not a paid-up policy, or have gained the 
luxuries of life questionably, should fear lest their life policy 
expire before all the premiums are sent to the National Bank 
of Heaven. 

A financier has for sale real estate he values at $5,000, 
and for which the assessor, disguised as a farmer, ofifers him 
$4,500, which he refuses. The next day the same man re- 
turns to assess the taxes, when the price estimated bv the 
owner suddenly dropped to $2,000. 

A private servant, whose wages are $1.00 a week, sends 
or takes, without permission from her employer, a portion 
of the table luxuries home to her sick mother and brother. 
Wh.en her offense is discovered she suffers the penaltv, and 



18 • 

otlier families are warned never to trust her, and she is dis- 
carded by all her honest friends. 

A county officer, whose salary is $TOO a month, appro- 
priates the public funds to selfish use, therewith paying his 
railroad fare, his carriage hire, and buying his cigars and 
opera tickets. This is a w'ell-known fact to all his special 
friends, who never betray him because he is popular in 
society and has higher political aspirations. It is a popular 
inclination, encouraged by many in authority, to excuse trans- 
gressions in proportion as they are great. 

" It is a sin to steal a pin, 
I Much more to steal a greater thing." 

A hungrv child takes a loaf of bread or a basket of 
grapes from the market-house and receives severe punish- 
ment. Many cold and hungry children would never be 
tempted to steal if the men behind the vote would condemn 
the manufacture and sale of intoxicants. Instead of the 
liquor dealer bemg required to pay tribute, he should be com- 
pelled to abandon his trade. To gain your consent to be 
directly or indirectly turned into a corpse by alcohol, he 
promises to preserve your body indefinitely, but not infinitely. 

" The cup that sparkles with brilliant hues, which capti- 
vates the eye, and whose hidden power fires the veins with 
fever and life, has a dreg that is the poison of death. He 
who drinks for pleasure will drink again for passion ; he 
who drinks for passion will drink again for madness ; he who 
drinks for madness will drink again for death and hell." 

Troubles can swim, so do not try to drown them in 
liquor! Wonted melancholy returns when stimulating ex- 
citement passes away. The life of the inebriate and gambler 
is a hard one, but the death is still harder. 



19 

DON'T SEND MY BOY WHERE YOUR GIRL 
CAN'T GO. 

Don't send my boy where your girl can't go, 

And say : " There's no danger for boys, you know, 

Because they all have their wild oats to sow." 

It is no more right for my boy to be low 

Than your girl. Then please do not tell him so. 

This world's old lie is a boy's worst foe; 

To hell or the kingdom they each must go. 

Don't send my boy where your girl can't go; 

For a boy or a girl, sin is sin, you know ; 

And my baby boy's hands are as clean and white. 

And his heart is as pure as your girl's tonight. 

What sends the soul of a girl to hell 

Will send the soul of my boy as well. — Scl. 

St. Philip Neri says : '" One God alone, if He is against 
me, who will save me ? One soul alone, if I lose it what will 
become of me? One more sin might be my last; if it were I 
should be lost." 

The daily press and monthly magazines print advertise- 
ments of wine and whiskey because men engaged in this 
traffic pay them liberally for attractive cards. 

Satan chuckles over the reformer's efforts and the 
shrieks of the orphans and widows over the lost. 



CHAPTER III. 

Why do we find so little comfort in the living present 
and invest the past with a glittering garb, or picture the 
future as an El Dorado? Is this indifference to the present 
a part of the beneficent scheme of nature to make life en- 
durable ? 

In a picture representing youth and age, a boy stands 
erect in a boat and looks hopefully and happily away over 
the expanse of sunlit waters, while an aged man gazes 
mournfully upon the shore from which the vessel has lately 
sailed. This is simple and pathetic, but expresses it all. The 
world is before the one and behind the other. 

We too often cultivate anrl teach the habit of saying 
unpleasant truths, and if we were presented with a record of 
our utterances on many subjects, the humiliation might cause 
remorse. We should judge others lenientlv, remembering 
that our own faults are probably far greater. When tempted 
to make injurious remarks on the failings' of others, we 
should remember these words : "- Consider thyself, lest thou 
also be tempted." We all have our infirmities — let us bear 
with each other. 

IF WE KNEW. 

Could we but draw the curtains 

That surround each other's lives. 
See the naked heart and spirit. 

Know what spur the action gives. 
Often we should find it better. 

Purer than we judge we should; 
We should love each other better 

If we only understood. 



21 

Could we judge all deeds by motives, 

See the good and bad within, 
Often we should love the sinner, 

All the while we loathe the sin ; 
Could we know the powers working 

To o'erthrow integrity. 
We should judge each other's errors 

With more patient charity. 

If we knew the cares and trials. 

Knew the efforts all in vain. 
And the bitter disappointment — 

Understood the loss and gain — 
Would the grim, external roughness 

Seem, I wonder, just the same? 
Should we help, where now we hinder? 

Should we pity where we blame? 

Ah! we judge each other harshly. 

Knowing not life's hidden force; 
Knowing not the fount of action 

Is less turbid at its source. 
Seeing not amid the evil 

All the golden grains of good — 
Oh ! we'd love each other better 

If we only understood. 

— Bessie IV. Smith. 

A. Lincoln said: "God must like common people, or 
he would not have made so many of them. It is no pleasure 
to me to triumph over any one, and I have not wilHngly 
planted a thorn in any man's bosom. The purposes of the 
Almighty are perfect and must prevail, though we erring 
mortals may fail to perceive them in advance." 

IS IT ALL IN VAIN? 

No recompense comes to my labors, 

Though plead I or patiently wait; 
The barriers are high and unyielding 

That bar me my rightful estate. 



No songs for the victor e'er greet me, 

No tribute is laid at my feet, 
Today and the desolate morrow 

Conspire to delude and to cheat. 

The waves that bore other ships homeward 

Took mine to a harborless shore ; 
The wind that sped safe their full cargoes 

Only scattered my limited store. 

Alone through the wilds of the forest 

T blazed out a trail with my skill ; 
It served as an open pathway 

Where others all passed at their will. 

Down deep went my plow in the furrows, 

At dawn and at noon and at dusk ; 
When I reached out my scarred hands to gather, 

There was nothing but empty husks. 

The stars that keep watch o'er my fellows, 
And brighten the gloom of their night, 

Seem set in their courses against me; 
And dare I the heavens to fight? 

Yet somehow my heart doth assure me 
That back of the gloom and the frown 

My Father's kind face is uplifted, 

His strong hand is holding my crown. 

Not v;iin are my toils and my trials 

Nor useless my bitter defeats, 
If only they drive me to Jesus 

And leave me in dust at His feet. 

— Mrs. Dora Kirkpatrick. 

Every Christian is a child of the King — a crown prince. 
No one is poor who is " rich toward God." He has a rever- 
sionary estate that fadeth not away. Except where estates 
are left as testamentary trusts they revert to the common- 
wealth, therefore a dead man does not own anything. " The 
millionaire of today may be a pauper tomorrow. The pauper 



of time may be the Croesus of eternity. Riches take to them- 
selves wings and fly away, the dying Christian takes wings 
and flies to riches." 

Fortunes are lost as well as won in speculation, but 7iot 
all fortunes are won or lost in that way. JNIany who have 
the capacity to make money lack the capacity to keep it. A 
man once possessed $19,000,000, then died in debt. Another 
lived in a poor house, five feet wide, and left $30,000,000. 
He lived without the capacity- to enjoy his riches, and there 
are few more pitiful creatures than the miser who worships 
gold and silver idols. 

THE MISER. 

He said to himself : " I would fain be rich, 

No squandering spendthrift I ; 
With miglit and main the gold I'll gain, 

To spend in the by and by. 
I'll grasp and gather and pinch and save. 

Nor answer the fools who jeer. 
But my hungry till their coin shall fill. 

To pay for each mocking sneer." 

And so, as the years rolled swiftly by, 

A mountain of gold he piled, 
Whose shadow fell on his lonely cell. 

Where never a loved one smiled. 
He meant to barter his wealth for joys 

To brighteii his journey's end. 
But it grew a part of his very heart 

That he could not bear to spend. 

He died, and all of his schemes and plans 

The mould of the churchyard hid. 
With ne'er a tear on his friendless bier, 

Nor flower on his coffin lid ; 
He left his gold for a spendthrift fool 

To scatter to earth and sky. 
And the grasses wave on his lonely grave, 

Neglected snd rank and high. 



24 

There are beautiful lands that he might have seen, 

There are joys that he might have known, 
There are cries to heed, there are mouths to feed, 

There is seed he should have sown. 
And grateful blessings from thankful lips, 

And love of a child and wife. 
All these he sold for a bag of gold — 

And his was a wasted life. 

— Joe Lincoln, in L. A. IV. Bulletin. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Here is a sketch of a daughter of rich parents who were 
recognized leaders of the most fashionable and exclusive 
society of the beautiful city where they reside. 

She was cradled in luxury, with all her childish fancies 
gratified, and no expense was spared in her education, for 
she was trained to become a social autocrat. Her cultivated 
genius made her proficient in music and dancing and she 
graduated at the head of her class in a female college. 

She made her dchnt surrounded by admirers, for she 
was a beauty and lacked not personal magnetism, and this 
was one of the most successful social gatherings ever assem- 
bled here. 

Her aspirations for power, fame and riches (her father 
possessed $1,500,000) knew no bounds. She was in demand 
both in her own and other cities, and her absence was the 
occasion of disappointment and many heartaches at enter- 
tainments. She possessed a subtler sense, which she had no 
leisure to cultivate, and her intrinsic powers of soul lay dor- 
mant. 

The law regarding the disuse or misuse of the physical, 
mental and aesthetic faculties, is relentless. Use is life, but 
abuse or neglect is atrophy and death. They who neglect 
their finer spiritual sentiments sin against their better selves, 
and wound peace and happiness. It was with her as with 
all the children of genius, neglect of faculty is swiftly fol- 
lowed by ruin and loss. 

Her waking hours were at a premium, and her leisure 
must be devoted to music practice and preparation for the 
next social event. The daily papers, the popular novels and 



26 

magazines required so much of her time that when she be- 
came too weary for their perusal, her maid reheved her by 
continuing the reading while she reclined on a luxurious 
couch endeavoring to recuperate her overtaxed nerves and 
strength. 

Year after year continued her social triumphs, and the 
fruits and flowers which were beautiful in anticipation were 
in reality apples of Sodom, ashes and bitterness to the lips, 
and the fragrance of the flowers became a compound of 
bitter-sweet, poppy, aconite and nux vomica. 

Enervated physically and mentally and always more 
unhappy than contented with all she has tasted, yet the thirst 
is unquenchable and the water like that of Marah, — beau- 
tiful, but bitter. 

One Sunday night, in a dream or vision, she reviewed 
the troops enlisted in fashionable society's bloodless warfare, 
and they all marched gracefully, but were arrayed not in the 
conventional evening uniforms, but in sorrow's weeds, and 
they kept time to Beethoven's funeral mareli. 

She awoke to remorse and penance, and resolved to 
renounce society once for all. Her relatives and friends were 
shocked when they read the announcement heading their 
favorite column that their idolized leader " forever renounces 
worldly amusements and resolves to atone for a wasted life." 
She was now only twenty-four, and her future looked as 
inviting as it did six years before when she entered society, 
their favorite then, as now. 

Most pathetic is the tragedy of the atrophy of the soul, 
— the death from starvation of the finer feelings. 

A reaction occurred which her remarkable will power 
and medical skill were pov/erless to check, and alas ! for 
her, the end was in sight ; she imagined she could hear the 
plashing of the oars of the boatman coming to row her over 
the tide. 



27 

The pathos of her face was heart-rending. She had all 
the symptoms of melancholia and brain fever, and her dearest 
friends were prostrated with grief, for her mind was chaos. 
At irregular intervals she seemed to realize everything when 
her associates and sympathizers would attempt to console 
her, but this only intensified her mental anguish, and only 
regrets for herself and piteous, soulful warnings to others 
were uttered. Her descriptions of visions caused the once 
gay and haughty to weep and sob piteously. All the elite 
of the city and many ofliers visited this home of sorrow, for 
sympathy makes the world akin. Mirth gave place to sor- 
row that refused to be comforted, and hopes were crushed 
by disappointment, and their dreams of grandeur vanished, 
for the icy chill of death shook her feeble frame and she 
yielded her mortal breath. 

During her brief illness, for she survived only three 
days of this indescribable anguish, all of her acquaintances 
who had an opportunity called to see her, and many of the 
scenes beggar description. 

The interesting details of the experience of this popular 
society leader would fill a volume. Those who are familiar 
with the life and death of the worldling may exercise their 
imagination. 

HELP THAT COPIES TOO LATE. 

Ah ! woe for the word that is never said 

Till the ear is deaf to hear, 
And woe for the lack to the fainting head 

Of the ringing shout of cheer. 
Ah ! woe for the laggard feet that tread 

In the mournful wake of the bier. 

For baffling most in this dreary world, 

With its tangles great and small, 
Its lonesome nights and its weary days, 

And its struggles forlorn with fate, 



28 

Ts that bitterest grief, too deep for tears. 
Of the help tliat comes too late. 

— Ma'-garct B. San,s;stcr. 

We blindly refuse to study and heed the dearly bought 
experience of others, but await our own, which come too 
late for personal profit. Too late are the saddest words in 
our language, but we have no faith to believe this until it 
is too late. 

There are pretentious people who are so ignorant of their 
responsibilities that they unconsciously present, as snecess 
models to the young, men who have cultivated the grasping, 
over-reaching instincts which over-shadow all the finer qual- 
ities of the physical, intellectual and spiritual nature. 

Man, being the most complex creature in the universe, 
will become atrophied if all his higher natural and spiritual 
qualities are undeveloped and unused. Specialists and mere 
money-getters are the most pitiful failures when the dormant 
faculties of body and soul become atrophied. We must instil 
into the minds of the young that all labor is noble and holy 
that develops the higher attributes of their being and broad- 
ens their sympathies. 



CHAPTER V. 

Shakespeare said : " Nothing can we call our own, but 
death, and that small model of the barren earth, which serves 
as paste and cover to our bones." The summons of the death 
angel is always imperative, and the rich and poor must obey 
the call. 

"To purchase Heaven has gold the power? 
Can gold remove the mortal hour?" 

That was an impressive scene in 1893, when two hun- 
dred millionaires assembled in his hrownstone mansion on 
Fifth Avenue to view the remains and witness the funeral 
of Jay Gould. The casket was in a large front room, under 
an immense mirror, surrounded by white roses and floral 
designs. The psalms and hymns and funeral service may 
have impressed these living men of wealth with the truth 
that money will not delay death's messenger nor purchase 
heavenly treasures. The dead man had accumulated $100,- 
000,000, and had not stopped gathering until he died, nor 
will they till thev follow him. The contrasting scenes of 
the house and streets were wonderful. The funeral was 
semi-piiblic, and soon the streets were thronged with an 
irreverent crowd, who ridiculed the black streamer on the 
door, forgetting that the time would soon come for death to 
cast them out of the world. When will mortals learn hu- 
manity from the affliction of their brethren, or wisdom from 
their own transient and fugitive life? 

The skeptic, attempting to be wise beyond what is per- 
mitted to man, plunges mto a darkness more deplorable. 
Humble love, and not' proud reason, keeps the door of 
Heaven, and love is adniitted where proud science often 



30 

fails. We know but little of the conditions of the future 
existence, but love must last, for the Eternal God is Love. 
Love is the coin which will be current in the universe when 
all the other coinages of all the nations of the world shall 
be useless and unhonored. Therefore let us seek this 
precious treasure first, then other things of less value may 
be added. 

It has been proven and we know that religion is the 
basis of civil society and the source of all good and of all 
comfort. Faith and hope live in death itself, for the children 
of God can say, " While I expire I hope." The Christian 
religion offers a glorious Savior to all men, and Heaven to, 
the saved soul. 

Strong men declared that nothing had ever appealed 
to them so strongly before for Christian religion as the utter 
desolation and hopelessness of his family when Robert G. 
Ingersoll, an agnostic, lay cold and silent in death. He had 
been a popular orator, and accjuired fame chiefly through his 
writings and lecture attacks upon the Christian religion, 
therefore he left a heritage of unfaith to the family he loved. 
They had no hope for future union, and the dreariness and 
loneliness prostrated them and they reluctantly surrendered 
to the incinerating urn the one tangible thing between them 
and the eternity of separation. The only funeral services 
corjsisted of reading from Col. Ingersoll's writings. It was 
all secular and brief — not a soothing, consoling note of 
music, not a prayer for sympathy, or help or mercy. 

Amid the gigantic forces of the world's evil, love will 
endure and triumph, because " God is love." Love will over- 
come all the forces of infidelity arrayed against it in spite 
of Paine's " Age of Reason," or \^oltaire's " Philosophy of 
History," because love is the foundation of both human and 
divine laws. 

Milton says: " God made thee perfect, not immutable; 



31 

and good he made thee, but to persevere he left it in thy 
power : ordained thy will by nature free, not over-rul'd by 
Fate Inextricable, or strict necessit}-." 

" Our voluntary service He requires, not our necessi- 
tated." Volunteers are welcome to help conquer the world 
for Jesus, and to join the crusades lest more laboring men are 
beguiled by their greatest enemy, anarchism or nihilism. It 
has been denied that the death of President McKinley was 
ordained of God. but was the wickedness of nihilism. The 
assassin canie upon him Judas-like and shot him, after be- 
traying him with the grasp of the hand. The president, 
wotmded unto death, asked that his murderer be protected 
and spared to await the verdict of the courts. This was a 
grand triumph of law and a good blow to mobism, for 
lynching is a dangerous species of anarchy which should 
be driven from the land hx the strict enforcement of the 
law. Nihilism would divide the land and give as much 
to the idler as to the worker, and assassinate every 
king, president and officer of the law on earth. May the 
constituted authorities crush this venomous reptile wherever 
it lifts its head — before its power is fully tested. 

The imperishable riches of the mind and soul are of- 
fered, yet their possession is forced upon none. " Whosoever 
will, let him take the water of life frqely." If any perish of 
thirst, it is only because they refused the water of life. God 
leads none to the edge of the abyss of destruction and there 
hurls them ofif. 

Unbelief says : '' I can not understand the mysteries of 
resurrection." Can we understand the transformation that 
makes the beautiful butterHy rise from the tomb of the 
worm ? 

In I. Cor., 15, Christ's resurrection is made the pledge 
of ours, and His tomb was in a garden, where nature's cycle, 
from life to death, and from death to life, teaches that death 



does not end all. He rose amid Inmdreds of lesser but similar 
resurrections. The favorite resurrection flower, the lily, rises 
in purity and beauty from the ugly buried bulb. 

Those who do not study *' Vol. T." the Bible, fail to find 
the real beauties in nature, which is " Vol. II " in God's reve- 
lation. Nature's analogies confirm the promise of renewed 
life after death which is proclaimed by the Bible. 

Our spiritual resurrection must begin here and without 
delay if we would be transformed into a heavenly character. 

" To change life's cloth, not trim it for display, 

Christ gave His charter. 
All men can be religious when they pray. 

But few at barter; 
Better be self-denying every day. 

Than once a martyr." 

We too easily or quickly forget spiritual things and 
make only an imperfect endeavor to comprehend them. We' 
seek the dead " historic Christ," rather than the living, 
lovmg, sympathetic Christ. 

Christ left for our heritage an ideal life and the prin- 
ciple of universal brotherhood. Alas ! for all who do not 
love one another, for love is of God. The highest love must 
imitate the self -surrender of the Good Shepherd who gave 
himself for his sheep, and came not to be ministered unto 
but to minister. It allows enmity to none, though much 
causes grief and disapprobation. Love, sympathy and help- 
fulness is the perfection of human life. Christ loves the 
soul regardless of the rags of the beggar or the silks, furs 
and jewels of the rich. He teaches the law of social sym- 
pathy and service, and was the greatest social reformer, be- 
cause He dwelt among the poor and went about doing good. 
The poor have furnished some of the world's best and great- 
est leaders, and the common people supply the food and 



clothes of the world, yet they are not satisfied with ordinary 
duties and spheres of work. 

Each individual and profession is dependent upon 
others, and the farmer, who is the most independent of any, 
often envies his professional brother in the city his easy life. 
Success is the result of the best mental and physical efforts 
combined, therefore we who have only ordinary equipment 
and opportunity must be thankful for what we have and 
usefully employ them. With nearly all people this life is 
necessarily one of toil and struggle. They who perform 
manual labor have little sympathy for brain workers, while 
the one envies the other his calling". 

Everything- seems to go wrong with some men who toil 
and sulTer. yet fail in the eyes of humanity. There are 
those who lost all on earth and were cheated out of all but 
their coffin and the spot where they lie buried, who now 
share the riches of Heaven. 

There are others — Fortune's favorites — who turn 
everything to their advantage, and are so absorbed in their 
successes that they neglect the one great treasure — their 
eternal soul. Kingsley says : " Man, in his pride and self- 
sufficiency, despises humiliation and penance, and the broken 
and the contrite heart." 

Nothing but the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus 
caw atone for our sins. 

Many of us are so selfish and our sins of commission 
and omission so great that we must do penance all our lives. 
As our punishment, the stings of conscience never cease to 
torment until death comes as the comforter of all whom 
time can not console. 

Many of us do wrong unintentionally, and passion often 
forces the tongue to utter what after reflection condemns. 
Reflection may be made at leisure over sins committed in 
haste. We may confess, repent and be forgiven, — yet re- 



34 

pentance is not ended — the penitential tears continue to 
flow, for remorse is the torturer of the brave and penitent 
soul. Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before 
to judgment, and some men they follow after. I. Tim., 5 124. 
Therefore we know sin is punished here or hereafter, but 
remorse and the penalty inflicted or suffered here can not 
be compared with eternal misery and despair. 

Sin separates from God. J^sus became sin for us in 
order that we might never experience eternal separation 
from God. He suffered death on the cross and paid the 
penalty once for all for the v/orld's sins. Those who receive 
the Lord Jesus as Saviour, who by faith accept the fact of 
atonement for sin as the only way of salvation, will be ad- 
mitted into the blessed presence of God and given a home 
in Heaven. 

" Faith builds a bridge from this world to the next. 
O'er death's dark gulf, and all its horror hides." 

Intense excitement or anger withers the physical en- 
ergies like fire, and the various forms of fashionable dissipa- 
tion cause more physical and mental fatigue than useful 
labor, for work produces refreshing slumber. Those who 
take life quietly retain their physical beauty and vigor longer. 
Buoyancy of spirit comes from well-spent years. 

Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, was the founder of 
the most hideous cruelty devised by man, yet these were not 
more excruciating that the stings of remOx'se for a misspent 
life. Society makes demands of her devotees that involve 
some in bankruptcy and change the current of others' lives 
from humility and sacred reverence to pride and selfishness. 
This spirit has invaded the churches until the choir and 
leading members must appear in purple and fine linen every 
Sabbath. Society girls dare not appear in church on Easter 
Sunday without the conventional costume, so if one is absent 
it is inferred that her dressmaker or milliner failed to finish 



35 

the new dress or hat Saturday night. I may fail to attend 
a wedding or place of amusement because it is humiliating 
to my pride to be scorned for my simple apparel, but such an 
excuse for absence from divine services shall never be 
charged to my account. I confess that it is embarrassing 
from a worldly view, and from experience I sympathize 
with all who dare feed their souls during these ordeals. If 
slighted by those present living — our souls may commune 
with redeemed spirits who never utterly forsake the perse- 
cuted. 

The poverty of the poor is increased by an attempt to 
follow rich leaders, and anvthing is imitated quicker than 
refinement of soul or intellectual culture — because these are 
seldom appreciated or understood. 

People who should know better have been guilty of 
snobbery in its worst form. All society people who regard 
the transient fashions above imperishable riches are snobs, 
" who hope to make you think they are unconscious of your 
existence, and all the time are endeavoring to dazzle or stun 
you by their appearance." 

All college graduates with only superficial knowledge 
of books and humanity are snobs, who are soiiietimes after- 
zvards transformed by diflicult lessons thoroughly compre- 
hended, and severe discipline in life's school, into beautiful 
butterflies, yet oftener they remain in the chrysalis state. 
We easily recognize the external appearance or occupation, 
but it requires the skillful art of acute imagination to dis- 
cover beauties of soul. The snob neglects the study of 
psychology, but they who possess the elements of universal 
brotherhood will never scorn anyone for misfortunes. 

The elite must remember that it is a parody on success 
to regard as successes those who eclipse all others in the 
financial and social galaxy, — if the soul is ignorant of the 
ctiqiictte of Heavenly society. 



36 

The reallv enlightened see no honor in ambition which 
collects wealth that can not be used by its possessor, while 
the lack of it by those from whom it was taken deprives 
them of life's comforts or necessities. Culture is a park, 
free to all wdio can appreciate its beauties, an-d not an iso- 
lated pleasure garden, exclusiyely for the arrogant. 

It is not what the rich give, but what they share in 
hospitality with their humbler cousins that deserves true 
recognition, and praise. " The difference between pride and 
vanity is that we have the one and other people have the 
other." 

Many of us are self-appointed judges, and we who have 
the greatest faults ourselves are the most merciless critics. 
We desire to know all the faults of others, and are most 
unscrupulous in seeking to know the unknowable. A gossip 
knows all the evil that occurs, and much that never occurs ; 
and the wdiisperers are unwelcome messengers who deliver 
the news and comments of local gossips. Let listeners be- 
come deaf to these peddlers and they will become discour- 
aged in the free distribution of their wares. 

"Slander meets no regard from noble minds; 
Only the base believe what the base only utter.'' 



CHAPTER VI. 

The vanity of the curious was displayed in New York 
City recently when Miss May Goelet, one of the richest 
American heiresses, married. The excitement and disorder 
before and during- the ceremony was unparalleled at any 
previous great wedding in New York. A force of two 
hundred policemen was powerless to check the ten thousand 
people eager to see the bride, and four hours after the 
ceremony Fifth Avenue was still crowded with women seek- 
ing souvenirs from the church decorations. 

At a grand wedding this year the bride wore a dress 
that made even New York stare at its beauty and novelty, 
for it is literally all colors. The result of the five month's 
work spent upon it is too exquisite for description. The 
material is the finest quality of chiffon, embroidered in floral 
designs of natural sizes in all the delicate and beautiful 
colors. The petals are of chiffon and the embroidery is done 
in silk and chenille, and the flowers seem to float from a 
cloud, the edge of which is a foam of the finest lace. We 
all should admire beauty, but let us not covet these rich 
costumes of the butterflies of fashion, for the fashion of this 
w^orld passes away. For those who spend their time on earth 
in purchase of its worth and are content wnth simple clothing, 
white robes have been prepared. Rev., 6: ii. 

Any one with $10,000,000 can storm the citadels of 
New York society and reach their goal — Fifth Avenue. 
When an abode is gained there at immense cost the next 
step is to spend as much time as possible away from Fifth 
Avenue, at the fashionable resorts or in foreign travel. 

Society leaders wield a power in the world unequaled by 
any for evil or good, and alas ! if the power is evil. What of 



38 

those who believe the only true success means fame or riches, 
the owner of a palace, a yacht, a private Pullman car, or 
ability to buy one's wife the finest jewels on the market, or 
one's daughter an English duke, or some foreign title? 

Financiers and speculators will have dividends at the 
hazard of conscientious principles. They try to appease 
their conscience by benevolent donations, while their vanity 
is fed by flatterers who praise their financial ability and 
liberality. Many are arrant hypocrites who deceive the peo- 
ple — by being humane and public-spirited — into the belief 
that it is not the money for which they care ; while others 
prefer riches alone regardless of flatterers. Selfishness lurks 
in all our thoughts, pleasures entice us, temptations master 
us, and pride rules our wills. 

Dogmatic selfishness among the different churches must 
be eradicated if the best results are desired, and if the in- 
different and unbelieving arc influenced to realize their duty 
to themselves. 

T am distinctly not a materialist, nor am I a medium of 
spiritualism, yet I understand spiritisin to that degree that 
I feel at home in any church where man is proclaimed as a 
sinner and Christ as a deliverer from sin and sorrow. I have 
a preference, — yet I like all the evangelical denominations, 
from the solemn ceremonies of the Episcopal to the sim- 
plicity of the Baptist. I could afford to live and die and be 
buried from any one of them, for I have friends among the 
redeemed who pursued their pilgrimage to Heaven over 
different roads leading into the essential thoroughfare — 
consecration and faith. If the Bible is taken for their guide, 
the dift'erences in both political and religious creeds are 
trivial. 

A blast from The Rani's Horn says : " Some forms of 
Bible study are attempts to satisfy soul hunger by eating the 
dishes instead of the dinner." 



39 

Two orphan girls of equal attributes of mind and soul 
sought employment with a rich uncle in a progressive little 
city. Rebekah, as the name signifies, was admired for her 
enchanting beauty, and was given a place in the store, which 
she filled with politeness and dignity. Beatrice possessed 
a remarkable power of making others happy, disobliging 
herself to oblige others. Being of the popular ages, eighteen 
and twenty, they, with their relatives, were the recipients 
of honor in both church and social circles. 

Beatrice was kind and condescending. So her aunt 
gradually imposed more duties upon her as time rolled on. 
Selfish and jealous lest she should eclipse her own daughters 
in society, but with the plea that her cooking was superior 
to theirs, she was recjuested to remain at home and prepare 
dinner while all except her uncle went to church. " Our 
hired girl '" was the name often used in speaking of her. 
Cold indifiference increased to scorn among the proud and 
thoughtless young people, which was humiliating to her 
refined, sensitive nature. She endured the ordeal, taking all 
her troubles to the Friend of JMartha, who gave Divine 
sympathy and alleviation. 

Rebekah, having in the eyes of the world the elevating 
and popular position, continued to be a favorite in society, 
but this was not all. Instead of being quiet and sober- 
minded, she was frivolous to excess during her leisure, and 
spent as little time as possible with her humble sister. 
Nothing occurred to humiliate her, and she is now an orna- 
ment to society, while her sister in obscurity makes her 
relatives an excellent servant and is beloved by the poor, 
who appreciate her kindness. The poor, ragged beggars all 
know her, and she never refuses the hungry ones who fre- 
quent her kitchen door. " The grief that does not speak, 
whispers the o'erfraught heart and bids it break." She gives 



40 

sorrow words, for the Man of Sorrows comforts her. for 
she goes to Him in prayer for even her enemies. 

The most genuine and enduring worldly pleasure con- 
sists in promoting the pleasure of others, and trust in Jesus 
frees the soul from future anxiety. 

Much more might be said of these sisters, but wc shall 
leave the rest for the imagination of the reader. 

A celebrated Frenchman said: " Perfection consists not 
in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things 
with an extraordinary spirit." Our aim should be to ennoble 
our duties or profession, instead of depending upon some 
prominent or popular position to which we aspire or now 
possess to ennoble us. To become an expert in the art of 
cooking and house-cleaning requires as much skill as that 
of some of the more profitable and popular occupations. The 
hired girl who is thoroughly prepared to serve in the kitchen 
and parlor deserves as much honor as the hired girl who 
serves in the store or school room. The private servant in 
the home with an average grade of 90 is the peer of the 
public servant of the school, office or store whose average 
grade is 90. The noble women who prepare the food and 
clothing of the world and patiently endure sorrows and cares 
in obscurity will be recognized in Heaven as the millionaires 
and political leaders are on earth. The girl who can manipu- 
late the scissors and needle in useful and artistic work, and 
knows the chemistry of food and can mix the ingredients for 
a dinner that will tempt a sick man's appetite, should be 
universally regarded as the superior of her who is only 
familiar with the studies which occupy the leisure part of 
lift, and is a monopolizer because she is up to date on the 
formalities of society's mystic realm. 

lentil dignified women regard their worthy home as- 
sistants as they do their husband's assistants in the office or 
store, they must serve themselves or employ unsatisfactory 



41 

help. Many poor girls could be elevated to lives of useful- 
ness if Christians regarded the teachings of Christ and 
would ignore the decrees of hip^h society. 

While the home helper is scorned by the professed 
followers of Christ as well as the unsympathetic world, girls 
■have no courage to seek work except in the big department 
stores, where all their wages are required for dress. 

Those noble girls who dare sacrifice their worldly am- 
bition because they regard the Lord's promises of more value 
"than the decrees of man, may pass through life unrecog- 
nized, but the smallest deeds of love and service will be cred- 
ited to their account and made known on the Judgment Day. 

Christ, who knows all about toil and persecution, sym- 
pathizes with the girl who works until her strength is ex- 
hausted and receives one dollar, with a severe reproof for 
some insignificant mistake, as the only reward for a week's 
lalior. Let us seriously consider this subject and decide 
whether it is pride, selfishness or thoughtlessness that causes 
people to scorn and evade the unpretentious who do the use- 
ful work of the world. 

A girl wrote to Dr. Talmage to know what he consid- 
ered the most important word in his vocabulary, and he re- 
plied : " Helpfulness " ; and said to a friend that he wished 
she had asked for two words and he would have added 
" sympathy." 

Physical labor eases the pains of the mind, hence the 
industrious poor are happier than they who have more 
money and time than they know how to use. 

"Labor is, rest — from the sorrows that greet us; 
Work — and pure slumbers shall wait on thy pillow ; 
Work — thou shalt ride over care's coming billow." 

" He that provideth not for his own, and especially for 
those of his own household, is worse than an infidel." God 



42 

does not want us to prefer the log cabin to the commodious 
residence, and only the coarse, repulsive or indigestible to 
delicious, tempting, appetizing, nourishing food. 

There is nothing in the Bible or any good book or paper 
against refinement of life and mental culture, and the 
products of the world were intended for man's benefit, and 
due attention must be given to our physical needs, for the 
mind and soul can not produce the highest results when the 
body is in a languid state. 

" Don't wait until tomorrow 
To twine wreaths around my brow; 
If flowers are to cheer me, 
Let me know their beauties now ! 
Don't wait until tomorrow, 
Or ask the Why or How ; 
Don't wait until I'm coffined. 
But bestow your roses now." 

'■ When the pang, the strife is past. 
When my spirit mounts on high, 
Catch me up in Thine embrace. 
In Thy bosom k-t me lie ! 
' Freed from sin and freed from death. 
Hid with Thee, in heaven above, 
Oversplendor me, O Cod, 
With the glory of Thy love." 



CHAPTER VII. 

Presidential candidates are misrepresented and abused, 
like all other conspicuous people, while the newspapers of 
the opposite political persuasion contain abusive cartoons and 
articles that become an ordeal to their meekness and Chris- 
tianity. The presidential office is one of manifold cares and 
duties, and all he says or does must be most carefully con- 
sidered, or the meaning is liable to be perverted or the object 
misrepresented. While the honor is great, it is not to be 
coveted or envied, for the responsibility is equally great. 

When Lafayette visited the United States in 1824, 
although his friend Washington was dead, all the other presi- 
dents were living. " What to do with our ex-presidents " 
might have been then a question, but for many years our 
presidents have not. as a rule, long survived their term of 
service. j\Ir. Cleveland is the only living ex-president. The 
strain of their office is great, and appears to be increasing 
with the years. Ex-Governor Taylor said in an address to 
the people in 1898: " Twenty years of anxiety and nervous 
strain and the perils and sweat of political campaigning and 
official agony will have been rounded up with the close of 
my present term of office, and I will be ready to gladly sur- 
render all my hopes of further promotion to others who are 
more ambitious and who find delight in giving and receiving 
blows. I have concluded that twenty years of such a life is 
enough for any one man of my temperament. I retire from 
politics because I am tired of its harrowing antagonisms. I 
am tired of it because as I grow older I find myself less and 
less able to bear the stings of criticism and the stabs of 
slander. If I had an office to give to every friend who asks, 



44 

and a pardon for the son of every old weeping mother, and 
the husband of every sobbing wife; if I had money to put 
in al! the bony hands of poverty daily extended to me for 
help; if I had power to protect the weak against the strong; 
if I could give happiness to all the people and sorrow to 
none. I would be contented to remain in the field of politics. 
I have had my ambitions and have earnestly sought to reach 
high position in order that T might be able to benefit my 
fellow men. I have succeeded, but the realization was like 
the rainbow or elusive phantom, ever in sight, never in reach, 
resting ever on the horizon of hope, and I have discovered 
that he who climbs to the summit of political prominence will 
look dowai with longing eyes upon the humbler plane of life 
below and wish his feet had never wandered from its w^armer 
sunshine and sweeter flowers." 

The responsibilities of rulers and those in high places 
are seldom realized by those who do not occupy them. It is 
recorded that a king of Poland abdicated his throne and 
became a porter. When asked why he did so strange a thing, 
he replied : " I'pon my honor, gentlemen, the load which I 
cast off was by far heavier than the one you see me carrv. 
The weightiest is but a straw when compared to that weight 
under which I labored. 1 have slept more in four nights 
than I have during all my reign. I begin to live and to be 
a king myself. Elect whom you choose. As for me, I am 
so well it would be madness to return to court." 

We have the dying testimony of many whose minds 
were absorbed by wealth, that cares and fears increased 
with their treasures. In youth they promise themselves peace 
and sweet repose for age. but arriving there the anxiety and 
fear of financial disaster distracts their expected ease, and 
keeping their fortune causes more trouble than the work of 
acquiring it. He who possesses a fortune and loses it never 
bears his loss philosophically. Two men make a balloon 



45 

ascension. One falls upon a bed of rock, and avails, " This 
is a hard world." The other falls upon a bed of down, and 
e.vclaims, "This is sweet repose !" The environment? of 
the prosperous keep them aloof and indifferent to the dis- 
tressed. 

Sobbing and shivering with cold, Ethel IMerwin, daugh- 
ter of A. B. Wilson, the millionaire sewing machine inventor, 
last Thursday night begged admission to the Waterbury 
almshouse. 

" I have no friends and no money," said she. " My 
husband has deserted me. T have been driven from pillar 
to post. I am sick and hungry, and I have no clothes that 
protect me from the wind. Please take me in for my father's 
sake." 

Thus, in the city where her father paid $200,000 in taxes 
during his lifetime and gave away a fortune to charity, his 
daughter begged for alms. 

A. B. Wilson, the sewing machine inventor, started in 
business here after serving his apprenticeship with a journey- 
man's kit, but his hundreds grew to thousands, and these 
rounded a full million, as royalties for his patents poured in. 
He died in 1888 with his fortune fast melting away because 
of his luckless business adventures in which he embarked 
during his last years. His children, except his second 
daughter Ethel, were dead. She married Henry Merwin. 
He deserted her in a few months and obtained a divorce. 
Her mother died, and a year ago she was left alone. She 
has done housework in families who were formerly employed 
by her father, and others of her father's employees have 
given her sums of money to keep her alive. — Nczv Haven 
Dispatch. 

Many have not the courage to survive financial calamity. 
They dare not meet their proud rivals of the business world, 
for humiliating is the contrast between then and now. They 



46 

realize that those depenclinc,- upon them must give up their 
social positions, for the money is gone wherewith to purchase 
the luxuries society demands. The world never sympathizes 
with the unfortunate — but scornfully rejoices — secretly? — 
ah ! no, but delights in publishing the misfortunes and faults 
of all who lose in the battles of life. 

Reader, is it safe to have time, talent and soul invested 
in this deceitful world? 

He who escapes with his soul secure, after the fierce 
fires of financial disaster have consumed all earthly treasures, 
and dares go to the fashionable churches and testify and 
work for Jesus, will have treasures in Heaven of which the 
world never knew. Is not life too short for any man honestly 
to acquire, to have and to hold great riches? This question 
is left for the reader's next leisure hour, to be answered as 
reason and experience have taught. 

We know that death soon separates the man and his 
great riches, and if he has starved his soul and given his life 
to feasting and pleasure, the poor blind girl's hope is more 
desirable than his. 

Half the worry and work of life is not required to 
supply our real wants, but the mind annihilates present pos- 
sessions and seeks for more. The rich exercise the least that 
privilege which produces tlie greatest happiness — making 
others happy. When riches become ministers of mercy, sym- 
pathy and helpfulness, they are incense to the skies. 

Riches are worth striving for if used to elevate the life 
and soul to contemplate the useful and sublime. 

The Lord never intended for His people to despise this 
world which He formed, framed, furnished and adorned for 
their probationary abode where the soul is prepared for its 
native Heaven. We must not love and prefer this world 
before Him who made it, and give Him only what we can 
spare from this. He requires that we lay up treasures and 



47 

desire Heaven as a greater g-ood than earth — not a lesser 
evil than hell — when we can live here no longer. 

Col. Henry Watterson, the veteran Kentucky editor, in 
an address before the graduates of a business college, said : 
" Find out a nation's sins and you find therein its dangers. 
The danger we must fear and bew^are of has its roots in 
human nature, is fostered by our peculiar conditions and lies 
in the effect of money upon the national moral sense. The 
brains of the country are all engaged in money-making, and 
money-making alone." 

Dr. Talmage says : " The over-shadowing curse of the 
United States is the greedy, all-grasping monster, monopoly, 
which has the republican party in one pocket "and the demo- 
cratic party in the other pocket." 

Here is a sketch of two of the world's poorest men : 
One was always weary with laziness or tired with inactivity, 
and not shrewd enough to " put other men's shoulders to the 
wheel." He had assumed the duty of husband and father, 
but shirked the cares of both, which fell on his wife's shoul- 
ders. All his life was a curse of protest against the evil of 
the rich and their ill-gotten wealth, yet his poverty was as 
ill-gotten. Then he died and left it all — for this was his all. 

Another was a multi-millionaire, whose whole life had 
been given to money-getting. He over-reached and under- 
bid, gave little and took much, until he amassed a fortune, 
which he could not enjoy. Then he died and left all — for 
this was all. These men were alike mental and moral pau- 
pers, for all avenues of delight in nature, books and people 
were closed to them. Worst of all, in greed or in jealousy, 
they had valued gold above the " Pearl of Great Price." 

I thoroughly believe in ambitious discontent with our 
spiritual endeavors and ideals, and would incite in others 
am.bition for imperishable riches and soul-love. 



48 

" The Christian who never smiles has much to answer 
for." 

Innocent laughter is not undignified but is one of the 
most scientific forms of exercise, and is an excellent medicine 
for the over-taxed nerves and brain. We should not smile 
approval of follies and misdemeanors, and amuse ourselves 
at the expense of others whose innocent mistakes or ignor- 
ance appear ridiculous to us because we have the advantage 
of experience and culture. 

THE RIDICULOUS OPTIMIST. 

There was once a man who smiled 

Because the day was bright, 

Because he slept at night, , 

Because God gave him sight 
To gaze upon his child ; 

Because his little one 

Could leap and laugh and run, 

Because the distant sun 
Smiled on the earth, he smiled. 

He smiled because the sky 

Was high above his head. 

Because the rose was red, 

Because the past was dead! 
He never wondered why 

The Lord had blundered so 

That all things have to go 

The wrong way here below 
The over-arching sky. 

He toiled and still was glad 

Because the air was free, 

Because he loved, and .she 

That claimed his love and he ' 
Shared all the joys they had! 

Because the grasses grew. 

Because the sweet winds blew, 

Because that he could hew 
And hammer, he was glad. 



49 

Because he lived he smiled 

And did not look ahead 

With bitterness or dread, 

But nightly sought his bed 
As calmly as a child. 

And people called him mad 

For being always glad 

With such things as he had, 
And shook their heads and smiled. 

— Chicago Times-Herald. 

It is uncharitable to be constantly frowning and grumb- 
ling about " other people being so much happier than we 
are." There are those who have soured on the world because 
they have been deceived by some and have not received the 
homage of others. Blessed are they who expect no satis- 
factory dividends from selfish investments in worldliness, 
for they shall not be disappointed. 

" When our hatred is too keen, it places us beneath those 
we hate." None but weak minds blame and scorn all the 
family for the sins and misfortunes of one of its members. 
Charity does not condemn the helpless for the personal obli- 
gations of others. 

Idleness and satire are two beloved hand-maids of evil. 
Indolence is the mother of m.isery, while physical and mental 
work is essential to happiness. 

The arrogant are never happier than when encouraged 
by ilatterers who take satanic pride in listening to irony and 
invectives. May we pray : Lord forgive them, for they 
know not what they do ! 

Sarcasm is another of the many sins that go before to 
Judgment. 

" People sufifer more to be lost than to be saved, and 
punishment often begins on this side of the grave." 

" To cherish an unforgiving spirit is to refuse to go all 
the way to the cross with Christ." 



50 

" When the heart is full of compassion there is not room 
for prejudice." 

To know self, and something- of everything, and every- 
thing about some things, to be the ruler of the soul, and to 
have a purpose in life, and entertain high ideals, is success. 

" Pride has but two seasons — a forward spring- and an 
early fall." Misfortunes arising from man's own rashness 
are the hardest to bear. A horrible dream may disturb sleep, 
and a rash word or deed murders peace, and hangs like an 
incubus over the soul. Things seemingly commonplace often 
have caused imexpected and awful calamities. 

One of the most shocking tragedies which has occurred 
in this country in years was Ihe killing in New York City of 
Paul Leicester Ford, the author, whose best known book is 
" Janice IMeredith," by his brother, Malcolm W., who imme- 
diately shot himself, and the brothers were buried side by 
side. The author was a deformed cripple, while his brother 
was one of the finest athletes in the world. When the father 
died he gave nothing of a large fortune to Malcolm, and his 
brothers and sisters would not share with him. He brooded 
over it until it unsettled his mind, and he shot his brother 
and himself. 

Rev. S. W. Adriance says : 

" Th? choice day of grace is soon lost to the idler, 

Nor wait the swift moments that speed by our side; 

***** 

They stay not, those opportune angels of service, 

But draw far away from the lover of ease ; 
***** 

Life is not base, though it struggle with hardship." 

" Industry and frugality should co-exist. Idleness is 
the parent of vice ; industry, of virtue." 

True religion sympathizes with those who need sym- 
pathy, and the rich may be blessed by ministering to the 
needv. 



51 

We should not think it undi^8:nified and a sign of weak- 
ness to " weep with those who weep." " Christ went about 
doing good" — having "not where to lay His head." By 
patience and humility here we shall be exalted hereafter 
through our self-sacrif ces for others. 

We need to be, with " Christ our model," genuine Chris- 
tians, not imitation Christs. 

Paul says that those that are Christ's have crucified the 
flesh. Crucifying was the most painful of deaths, and it is 
not without pain that we can crucify our lower nature, but 
we may rise above this into superior power and bliss. 

Religion is a permanent investment that pays dividends 
in comfort and satisfaction that mere wealth and the world 
can not give. Many of us have faith to believe, but lack 
courage to work in the midst of a scoffing world, and we are 
easily dejected by those who speak sneeringly of religion. 

Overwork physically or spiritually kills fewer people 
than excessive leisure, for inactivity and stagnation is slow 
suicide. 

Praise pleases all, but commendation is due only those 
who work, and work today. 

Division increases pleasures, but diminishes cares and 
sorrows. Riches are useful for one much-neglected use — to 
elevate the helpless and fallen and train souls for Heaven. 
Earth's benefactors enjoy a tranquillity of mind which selfish 
wealth can not purchase. 

" 'Tis true my little purse grows light, 
But then I sleep so sweet at night ! 
This grand specific will prevail, 
When all the doctor's opiates fail." 

The longest life here is but a moment when compared 
with the infinite length of eternity, and we make " much ado 
about nothing " as regards temporal affairs, and too often 
neglect the all-important eternal welfare. We mtist confess 



52 

that we are more interested in perishable riches, and worldly 
losses and cares trouble us more than the loss of eternal 
souls. 

The costliest sacrifice is cheap if it secures the eternal 
safety of a precious soul and insures heavenly reunion. The 
province of the soul is large enough to occupy all our leisure, 
and no dv.Il time should remain to be beguiled with selfish 
amusements that are questionable in their influence. 

The advocates of dancing say it is good exercise which 
produces a graceful manner and carriage, and should not be 
classed with the serious evils of the world, but with the 
elevating amusements. They say there are just as good 
people who dance as there are who do not, and when the 
latter get to Heaven the dancers will be in sight. 

Little " no harms " are often the beginnings of un- 
expected endings, and the fascination of dancing is some- 
times like the fascination of wine, which leads to the most 
sinful way of living and the hardest way of dying. 

Many dance until the rosy tint appears upon the cheek, 
then go to an open window or a veranda for the cool night 
zephyrs to fan them away, never to return again. There 
are recorded facts more deplorable than these untimely 
deaths, when the soul is sacrificed to selfish pleasures. 

There are those to whom dancing is a physical delight, 
yet it is more commendable not to work so hard for one's 
relaxation. Take a brisk walk in the open air and call upon 
your less fortunate cousins and weep with them, then extend 
the hand of aid and sympathy, and the happiness will be real 
compared with the utterly frivolous existence you covet. 

What is presented in any theatre that compares with 
the beauty and grandeur of the Psalms and hymns, the sub- 
limity of the vision of St. John, or the inspiration we may 
receive from the " Trumpet Blasts " and visions of Heavenly 
reunion and grandeur, described by Dr. Talmage ? 



53 

Church services might be made so impressive and inter- 
esting that the desire for worldly amusements would rapidly 
decrease if all ministers would study to present the Gospel 
attractively. Be not deluded with the idea that I mean frivo- 
lous services, for I believe divine services should be always 
grave and solemn. All time and opportunity should be 
valued highlv. for there are inexhaustible subjects of wisdom 
and sublimity in both the visible world and the Celestial City. 
For all W'ho prefer tragedy, real life presents various scenes 
which can not be equaled by Nature's handmaid, Art, but 
alas ! for the actors. 

No disaster ever occurred in an American theatre equal- 
ing in loss of life the Irocjuois fire in Chicago, and but two 
in the history of the civilized world surpass it. In Chicago 
six hundred people were killed ; in the destruction of the 
Ring theatre in A ienna, twenty-two years ago, eight hundred 
and seventy-five perished ; and the burning of Lehman's 
playhouse in St. Petersburg seventy-two years ago caused 
the death of eight hundred. The number of holocausts in 
theatres is large, and many people have paid an enormous 
price in flesh and blood for amusements from the time when 
wild animals bounded in Roman amphitheatres to the pr -sent 
time, and prophets of punishment in future worlds paint no 
terrors worse than those wliich have marked many assem- 
blages of the pleasure-seeking. There have been real trag- 
edies, shrieks and wails of the dying — scenes that cause all 
the horrors ever depicted in mimic realms behind footlights 
to pale and shrivel into comparative nothingness. 

The vanity of human grandeur is like a stream con- 
stantly flowing until death dries the fountain. 
Shakespeare says : 

"This is the state of man; today he puts forth the tender leaves ot 
Hope, tomorrow blossoms, and bears his bhishing honors thick upon 
him: 



54 

The third day comes a frost, a kdling frost. 

And, — when he thinks, good ea^y man, full snrely his greatness is 

a ripening, — nips his frnit, and then he falls. 
Life's but a walking shadow ; a poor player, 
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no 

more." 

The way to fame is through much tribulation. Yotm;:^ 
says there would not be muc'n envy in the world if we knew 
how little some enjoy the g'reat thin!.2:s they possess. 

"High stations tumult, but not bliss, create; 
None think the great unhappy, but the great." 

Jay Gould said that after a man's fortune passed the 
half-million mark he bade farewell to peace and happiness. 

We want rest unto our souls, but ambition disdains con- 
tentment, which is found within ourselves in a meek and 
lowly disposition of the heart, and courts transport, admira- 
tion and applause, which often ends in disappointment. 

We are not happy and contented because we seek what 
we have not, and forget wliat we have until it is lost or 
gone, when we realize its value. 

Our real wants are few and easily supplied — our imag- 
inary ones are boundless and insatiable. If we possess all 
that nature requires we then invent artificial appetites and 
wants. 

When delayed, future rewards cease to encourage and 
future punishments to alarm — therefore, if man's life were 
prolonged, and the number of their days known to mortals, 
many more would perish. 

Fear of punishment often guides to duty, and if it were 
not for this dread many of the world's and fortune's favorites 
would pass an idle life of vanity and selfishness until their 
light, like the meteor, vanishes in the sable smoke of death. 
They who seem most secure in health and wealth, like 
the great trees of the forest, have many blasts to^ shake them, 



55 

and in their efforts to withstand Hfe's sfonns — often fall 
with a crash. 

Human happiness dwells in the soul, not in the flesh. 
We all are inclined to grasp at forbidden fruit, and scorn 
what is wholesome and attainable. Nothing is permanent in 
nature, everything ascends or declines. When freed from 
necessary contention, we quarrel through envy or ambition. 
The great calamities of life often fall on the elevated posi- 
tions, for there the storms are most violent and the thunder 
loudest. We should remember and admire the wisdom of 
Agur's petition : " Remove far from me vanity and lies. 
Give me neither poverty nor riches. F^eed me with food con- 
venient for me : lest I be full and deny thee ; and say, who 
is the Lord ? or lest I be poor, and steal ; and take the name 
of my God in vain." Prov., 30. 

Some exponents of speculative fniance in America 
should realize that if they were under the jurisdiction of 
English courts there would be far greater safety for in- 
vestors, but that disasters might await them. The vanity of 
human grandeur is again explained in the conviction of 
Whitaker Wright to a sentence of seven \ errs" p.^; al servi- 
tude from which he escaped by suicide. " 'Tis better to endure 
the ills we have, than fly to others we know not of." The 
most wretched worldly life should be endured instead of 
rushing into eternity, thus plunging the guilty soul in endless 
night. If people would be impressed with proper views of 
their constant and personal accountability to God, this con- 
viction should arrest all in their transgressions, and sin raid 
sorrow would decrease. Man's accountability to God should 
be realized by all, and every day we should live as if we were 
going immediately to Judgment, and also as if we expected 
a long earthly pilgrimage. Unbelief makes our miseries eter- 
nal, while faith and hope are the only cheap and universal 

cures for all the ills and sorrows men endure. 

% 



56 

One higher than the highest of earth will reward the 
righteous and punish the guilty here or hereafter, and not a 
cup of cold water given to a disciple will be forgotten. The 
heart's adoration and the prayers of the poor are always 
acceptable to God. The undivided heart and consecrated 
life is what God requires of His people, and to assist in S(jul- 
winning is the work we must do if we would have treasures 
in Heaven. 

God approves of the beautiful and sublime in art. for 
He has given us the beautiful and sublime in nature, so we 
should cultivate elevating sentiments, yet there are divine 
prohibitions against greed and covetousness. In jealous 
rivalry for supremacy vast fortunes are exhausted and busi- 
ness firms involved in bankruptcy and souls sold for naught 
— sacrificed to the world — in the struggle. 

The anxiety of the millionaire is greater than the anxi- 
ety of those with just what they can manage in peace and 
comfort. The former has to trust so much to others that 
he fears becoming their prey, and financial panics or confla- 
grations are feared because he has so many investments. The 
four elements are indispensable to man as servants, yet when 
the}^ pass beyond his control they become enemies of destruc- 
tion and extermination, when his works of use and beauty 
melt into oblivion. If he hhnsclf escapes their vengeance, 
he soon becomes a victim to the insidious ravages of disease 
or time. 

" Alan is but as a flower, and the haughty creations of 
his genius mere dust and ashes in the great day of Destiny." 

" JJ'Iiat is a mail profited if he shall gain 
the li'holc z^'orld and lose his ozun soul?" 

Get riches, my boy ! Grow as rich as you can ; 
'Tis the laudable aim of each diligent man 
Of life's many blessings his share to secure, 
Nor go through this world ill-conditioned and poor. 



57 

Get riches, my boy! Ah, but hearken you. mind! 
Get riches, but those of the genuine kind. 
Get riches, — not dollars and acres, unless 
You thoughtfully use them to brighten and bless. 

Get riches, not such as with money are bought. 

But those that with love and high thinking are wrought ; 

Get rubies of righteousness, jewels of grace. 

Whose brightness Time's passing shall never efface. 

Get riches ! Do not, as the foolish will do, 

In getting your money let money get you 

To steal life's high purpose from heart and from head 

And prison the soul in a pocket instead. 

Get riches! Get gold that is pure and refined; 
Get light from above ; get the love of mankind ; 
Get gladness through all of life's journey; and then 
Get heaven forever and ever. Amen. 

— Nixon Waterman, Arlington Heights, Mass. 

The happiest and most useful men are not the richest. 
The poorest people are those already possessing more than 
they can manage, yet with an insatiable ambition for greater 
wealth. Where perishable riches is the greatest ambition of 
life, present possessions do not give peace and joy, for there 
remains an endless desire for more. The alhirement of 
worldy treasures deludes many who indefinitely delay the 
preparation of the soul until they are on the brink of the 
abyss of death, when it is too late. 

Sickness and suffering have enough to do without the 
anxiety of the burden of the unsaved soul. When the body 
is tortured with pain and scorched with fever the trial is 
then sereve enough to occupy the mind without the remorse 
of a life sacrificed to worldliness. 

The thief on the cross is the only Bible record of re- 
pentance and salvation on the brink of eternity. 

Nothing is more pathetic than physical pain accom- 
panied b}^ conscious remorse and anguish for a misspent life, 



58 

and nothino- appeals more stronolv to the Christian to do 
his duty, lest some soul is lost by his ncc^lect. 

Ah, the wrong that might be righted 

If we would but see the way ! 
Ah, the pains that might be lightened 

Every hour and every day. 
If we would but hear the pleadings 

Of the hearts that go astray! 

Let us step outside the stronghold 

Of our selfishness and pride ; 
Let us lift our fainting brothers, 

Let us strengthen ere we chide ; 
Let us, ere we blame the fallen, 

Hold a light to cheer and guide. 

If they who spend their lives in useful and faithful ser- 
vice and daily repentance and prayers to God, often dread 
death as an ice-cold stream in winter, though the chill be 
btit a moment's, what is the remorse of those on their dying 
beds whose preparation for eternity is just begun? If con- 
secrated mothers and workers for the Lord feel unworthy to 
enter the King's palace and partake of His riches, what are 
the thoughts of those who spend idle, selfish or wicked lives ? 

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil 
heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. Heb., 
5 •■ 12. 

Alany lives are not worth living because of unbelief. 
We should pray to God to make the eternal world a reality 
to us and make us realize our responsibilities while here. 
The lives of all who do their best in all times and places are 
successes. Much patient training is necessary for brilliant 
performances. If we neglect opportunities to do good some 
soul may be lost by our indifference. We can not transfer 
to our brother our personal responsibilities and thus evade 
remorse or other punishment. Life is a failure where 



59 

worldly riches are more highly esteemed than the priceless 
treasure — the Soul. 

If millionaires continue to multiply and to combine, the 
London Express fears that a new table of measures will have 
to be put into the arithmetics, somewhat after this fashion : 

Ten mills make a trust. 
Ten trusts make a combine. 
Ten combines make a merger. 
Ten mergers make a magnate. 
One magnate makes the money. 

The worldling and self-indulgent live their easy, care- 
less lives r-egardless of their personal responsibilities to God 
for all their time and possessions, which are only a loan from 
Him. 

" When brought to the verge of the grave, and made to 
stand there, looking out upon the great eternity beyond, with 
its everlasting throne, its Great Judge and all its eternal 
verities of truth, justice and wrath," what is their remorse? 



CHAPTER A'lII. 

DEATH. 

" Death has a different visage for each and every son of 
man. To the sweet babe, Death is the mother's semblance, 
which softly takes the infant soul to God. To the brave 
youth, Death comes like an honored chieftain bearing laurel 
crowns. To the coward. Death is some hideous monster, 
who, far from standing before the dying one, needs but show 
his form to hurry the soul into Eternity." 

To all who are prepared to meet God in peace, angels 
are sent from the upper world as ministers of love and mercy. 
To all who have passed a selfish and unrighteous life, evil 
spirits appear from the lower world as ministers of sorrow 
and woe. 

It is often that men are unmercifully criticised and all 
their weaknesses and follies exposed while they live. Public 
servants and professionals are often caricatured and ridiculed 
by their opponents, but " when they go where no treason 
lurks, no envy dwells, no grudges grow," their good qualities 
are gathered into garlands and placed on their caskets. Like 
eulogies, they may incite the living to nobler lives, but they 
are nothing to the dead. Sometimes it requires the death- 
angel to cause the worldling to seek God. ]\lanv hav^^ re- 
turned from funerals resolved to meet their loved ones in 
Heaven. Many have viewed the silent sleepers and paid the 
last earthly tribute to their beloved, and after committing to 
the grave their earthly treasures, have become humble fol- 
lowers of the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the 
world. Death has made sad havoc all around, and we have 
no assurance that the relentless archer will leave us long 
undisturbed. We must not imagine that it is necessary for 



61 

the life of a good Christian to be gloomy and melancholy, 
but some pleasures must be resigned for others infinitely 
greater. 

Cardinal Gibbons says : " When we pray for the preser- 
vation or restoration of health and God does not grant our 
prayer, we must not infer that our prayers are in vain, for 
God answers our petitions either directly or indirectly. If 
He does not grant us what we ask here He prepares us for 
the glories of Heaven by the chastening." 

Great prosperity turns us toward Mammon, and we 
become dizzy with selfish pride and almost lose sight of 
God. We are startled by distress or bereavement into the 
realization of our dependence upon God for temporal and 
spiritual gifts and blessings. Before men go out to war, 
orators tell them that they all will be remembered by their 
country and their names be recorded in history, but go to 
the lonely graves or to the cities of the dead and many have 
not even the formal inscription " Unknown." We have the 
full-length portraits of the great leaders and conquerors, for 
these form the historian's theme, but all Heaven knows the 
true hero, and there shall they gain full recognition for tiieir 
deeds and shine as the stars, each with a distinct light. 

Requiems are mournfully tolled from the bells of all 
the churches in this world, and all the homes have been 
draped in mourning or contain emblems of sorrow or dis- 
tress. 

" There are none to decline your nectared wine, 
But alone you must drink life's gall." 

" Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and 
you weep alone," is sadly true ! 

The weakest have courage to bear the misfortunes of 
others, yet personal griefs test the fortitude of the brave 
and strong, for each heart knoweth its own bitterness. When 
the laughing world gives no solace and our dearest friends 



62 

forsake us and we are so weary we almost sink beneath the 
cares, let us go forth and seek those more distressed — for 
we often feel we are the most persecuted of any — and our 
pain will be lessened by their anguish if we aid them in 
word or deed, for we were born to serve, and activity of 
mind and body sustains the drooping soul. 

" Oh ! loving Father chide u? not for weeping, 

For Jesus wept while Lazarus still was sleeping; 
. We miss our loved ones day by day. 

But He who made the tears to flow, can wipe them all away. 
Oh, glorious hope ! Oh, blessed thought of earthly trials done, 
If faithful here, we shall meet again in our Father's Home." 

" The language of tears is universal, and Death, that 
can not weep, sets weeping all. No man is master and no 
man is pupil of this ancient lore, which is unstudied, yet 
correctly classical." 

" Procrastination is the thief of time. 
Year after year it steals, till are are fled ; 
And to the mercies of a moment leaves 
The vast concerns of an eternal scene." 

" How excellent that life they ne'er will lead ! 
The thing they can't but purpose, they postpone. 
All men think all men mortal, but themselves." 

" So dies in human hearts the thought of death, 
Ev'n with the tender tear which Nature sheds 
O'er those we love, we drop it in their grave." — YoiDig. 

" A death-bed's a detector of the heart, 
Here tired dissimulation drops her mask, 
Thro' Life's grimace, that mistress of the scene ! 
Here real, and apparent, are the same." 

" Heaven waits not the last moment ; owns her friends on this side 

death ; and points them out to men ; 
A lecture, silent, but of sovereign power ! 
To vice, confusion ; and to virtue, peace." 



63 

Why all this toil for triumphs of an hour? 
What tho' we wade in wealth, or soar in fame? 
Earth's highest station ends in " Here he lies " : 
And " Dust to Dust " concludes her noblest song. 

" Life's little stage is a small eminence. 
Inch-high the grave above ; that home of man, 
Where dwells the multitude : we gaze around ; 
We read their monuments ; we sigh ; .and while 
We sigh, we sink ; and are what we deplored ; 
Lamenting, or lamented, all our lot!" — Yoiiiig. 

We should not damp the delight of our few short hours 
of happiness by gloomy anticipations of misfortunes which 
we can not prevent. 

" We are often in happy ignorance of the tliundei"bolt 
that is about to fall from the smiling and cloudless heavens." 

"The Father hath willed it so, 
That mortals may never know 
Whether there lies in the future years 
A grave of hope to be wet with tears, 
A palace of ioy or woe, 

Lest feet should falter and hearts grow faint. 
He knew it was better so." 

Music is a universal language except to those who are 
born without the power to appreciate it. Only when genius 
is married to science are the highest results produced. 
Beethoven, the greatest composer who ever lived, chose 
patience for his guide. He was keenly susceptible to the 
pleasures of society, but at an early age was obliged to 
isolate himself on account of defective hearing, and was 
brought nigh to despair, but art alone sustained him. He 
once could hear perfectly, but finally became unable to hear 
his own heavenly music, and in life's meridian another soul 
was welcomed Home. 

Mozart was painfully apprehensive at the thought of 
death, and died at the age of 36. He was the most remark- 
able infant prodigy that ever existed, and passed through 
a childhood the most remarkable that child ever lived. He 



64 

composed much and easily. " The Requiem " was his last 
composition, of which he said to some friends : " Did T not 
tell you truly that it was for myself that I composed that 
death chant ? " 

"The limit of life is brief — 
'Tis the red in the red rose-leaf, 
'Tis the gold in the sunset sky, 
'Tis the flight of a bird on high. 

Yet we may fill the space 

With such an infinite grace 
That the red will vein all time, 
The gold through the ages shine, 
And the bird fly swift and straight 
To the lilies of God's own gate." 

— Unidentiiied. 

TKIBUTE TO OUR MOTHERS 

Consecrated mothers fight the bravest battles in all ages, 
and these holy wars last so long — from infancy to the 
grave. The kingliest victories are not won by admirals on 
battleships, but in woman's kingdom — the home, where the 
mother, in the continual wars, nobly fights on after victory 
in some lines and defeat in others, then silent, unseen, goes 
down. God sanctifies the services of the mother in the home 
or sick-room as He does that of the minister who preaches 
the gospel. She who ministers for weeks to the beloved 
sufferer and after all hope of recovery is gone, she watches 
the life fade away and sees the grave conceal the dear form 
from mortal view, can be really consoled by none except 
Christ, who wept while Lazarus slept. 

Literally, Christ never married, but zvas and is the 
especial friend and confidant of all troubled womanhood. 
Figuratively, the " Church is His Bride, the Lamb's wife, 
therefore woman has the privilege to go to Christ with all 
her troubles, for by His oath of conjugal fidelity He hath 
sworn to sympathize." 



65 

Let us not forget the consecrated sisters who cooperate 
with the Lord in His work of redemption by assisting in 
sonl-saving and are the humble instruments of the return of 
sinners to God. They who serve others, ministering to their 
needs, wiping away tears and comforting their sorrows, 
serve God. 

America's Queen, Frances E. Willard, was editor of 
The Chicago E,vcning Post and president of the W. C. T. U. 
from 1879 until her death in 1898. Her Heavenly birthdays 
are recognized annually by her followers. Dorothea Dix, 
the angel of the insane asylums, fought life's battles alone. 
The angel of the sick-room, Clara Barton, has been presi- 
dent of the American Red Cross Society for more than 
twenty years. Helen Miller Gould, whose fame is secure 
as one of the noblest American women, gives freely both 
money and work to many worthy causes. There are others 
who live lives of single blessedness, and give their undivided 
attention to those husbands and sons whose own wives and 
mothers are too much oppressed with their private cares to 
preside over those of the world. 

If your work produces wrinkles and silver locks, and 
is unrewarded and unappreciated^ — rejoice! for the con- 
flict will soon end and angels will accompany the freed spirit 
home. Disregard the derision and censure of the world 
if your noon is lengthening into the evening of life, for soon 
these will cease to be felt where no heart will be left unsat- 
isfied, for that happy region is the abode of love — of love 
without the defilements or disquietudes of mortality, for 
there it is an everlasting pure enjoyment. Thence came and 
new dwells Jesus again, for " God so loved a lost world that 
He senfHis only Son to redeem it from its sins, and to bring 
it to eternal blessedness." 

For reasons best known to themselves — not always of 
necessity — many good women fight the battles of life alone. 



66 

An alliance with an indolent and selfish man is superfluous, 
a hindrance — not a help. Before the consummation of 
marriage some have become widozvcd, and ever remain true 
to their departed lovers. There are and have been many 
guardian spirits over homes already established by others, 
who might grace a throne of their own. After all — they 
are never alone, for Heaven is on their side. Paul says the 
unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord (I. Cor., 

7:34). 

The common people do the work, bear the burdens and 
weep the sympathies of the world. Moses, the meek law- 
giver ; David, the sweet singer ; Burns, the poet ; Martin 
Luther. Newton. Lincoln, and many others to whom the 
world is indebted, were not cradled in luxury and reared in 
<ease. Earth's benefactors do not all dwell in the sunny ciime 
of riches and fame ; many serve God and pass lives of toil 
•and self-sacrifice in obscurity. Pneumonia, diphtheria, and 
the many afflictions of humanity, would have an unlimited 
sweep if it were not for the common doctors and nurses. 
Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton and other popular and 
noble women have nursed the sick in conspicuous places, yc' 
there have been thousands of as good nurses, though never 
h^ard of except among their own people. 

Dr. Talmage says : " All of a woman's life is one of 
self-sacrifice when she works and has the care of a home 
amid sorrow or sickness. Self-sacrifice brings all the real 
happiness of life, for God rewards magnificently in the 
deep and eternal satisfactions of the soul, yet the world 
hears nothing of them. You could not with the agonies of 
an inquisition make them say they prefer to indulge their 
own selfish pleasures to serving others. These noble women 
have many responsibilities, for by the food they provide, 
the couch they spread, the books or papers they introduce, 
and by all they do, they are helping to decide the eternal 



welfare of the human race. There are the trials of non- 
appreciation, sickness or fatigue, for she often rises in the 
morning half rested. She is the banker of her home, the 
president, the cashier, the teller, the discount clerk, and often 
there is a panic. O, man of business, if you had as many 
cares as that you would be a fit candidate for an insane 
asylum ! " 

SKETCHES AND TRIBUTES. 

John Russell was born in Ireland, May 20, 1776. He 
left there and came to America in 1795, and was married 
to Sarah Rosana Sprowell, September 22, 1803. Their only 
son, William S. Russell, was born one hundred years ago, 
June 26, 1804, and died at Decatur, Tenn., April 5, 1866, 
aged 62. He was a prominent citizen and ex-sheriff of 
Meigs County. He was noted for his hospitality and phil- 
anthropy, and his doors were always open to ministers of 
all denominations. The Ck'il War brought financial re- 
verses and great changes. His was the first death in this 
family, but others have followed on, and soon, so soon, all 
may be gone. 

" And oh ! the years and tears since then ! 
The miles and smiles that have lured us on ! 
The graves we have passed and the moments when 
The cradle and coffin seemed almost one." 

A Bible, one hundred nnd fifty years old, is now pos- 
sessed by T. J. Russell, in which appears the record of his 
grandfather, John Russell, who brought this Bible from 
Ireland. 

Sarah R. Neil died January 2^, 1882, aged 36. She 
was a kind mother and a devoted Christian. Her sudden 
death was a severe shock to her relatives and friends, yet no 
one was ever better prepared to obey a hasty summons than 
she. 

Her daughter, Minnie, always frail and delicate, like 
certain flowers, disappeared gradually from the earth as if 
exhaled to Heaven, and in 1903 went Home. 



68 

John T. Russell. Jr., died April i8, 1883, aged 53. 

In 1886, in her thirty-sixth year, the lips and ears of 
Fatima Russell Jones became heedless to the prattle and cry 
of her six young children. 

" Mother is dead," was their wailing cry, 

" Vainly we call, and cry and weep. 
We can not awaken from that sleep 
The mother who loved us and gave us birth. 
Her dear form rests 'neath a swell of earth." 

For one brief year Grandma filled the vacancy occa- 
sioned by the death of this mother. Her own family all 
being married and scattered abroad or gone from the earth, 
Susan Blevins Russell resided at the home of Capt. W. O. 
Jones, and tenderly cared for her motherless grandchildren, 
until July 2"]. 1887, when 

" The Golden Gates were opened wide, 
A gentle voice said ' Come,' 
And angels from the other side 
Welcomed our grandma Home." 

After long years come echoes and memories of: 

" Kindness and love and patient ways. 
Of watchful care through nights and days. 
Memory of hands with toil acquaint 
Of burdens borne with no complaint; 
Echoes of prayers and hopes and fears, 
A perfect trust through many years." 

Grandma had just passed her seventy-eighth birthday, 
and her sister, Mary Taylor, passed away just two weeks 
before, they being the last two of the older members of a 
large family. 

Life's labor ended and F. Grundy Russell passed from 
the earth in 1898. 

In ]\Iarch. 1899, the soul of Capt. W. O. Jones was 
safelv anchored in the Haven of Rest. His youngest son 



69 

preceded him Home only one month. He was a popular 
steamboat captain on the Clinch and Tennessee rivers, and 
admired by all who can appreciate true worth. He was a 
devoted Christian and Mason, regarding the duties and ob-, 
ligations of both. After the ceremonies of the beautiful 
,]\lasonic ritual the sad duty of assigning the body to the 
tomb was performed. " Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust 
to dust." Another brother sleeps in Decatur cemetery. 

Sunie Jones Coulter, his only daughter, " crossed over 
the river and anchored on the Heavenly shore," July 13, 
1902, aged 27 years. She was married to Robert J. Coulter 
in December, i-SqS, and .they for a while resided in Dayton, 
Tenn., but later they went to Roswell, New Mexico, where 
she died and was buried — far from the Tennessee home. 
Her Christian life was beautiful — an inspiration to her 
loved ones — and may her two children be often reminded 
of their saintly mother. Her last and fatal illness continued 
eleven weeks, when the accumulated force of faith and char- 
acter and fidelity to God served so well. When the insidious 
ravages of disease invaded her happy home, with great effort 
and patience she endeavored to stay the monster off, but 
she at last surrendered with the faith of a victor. She talked 
with her husband about the parting, and was so well pre- 
pared and the way was so plainly open to her, that the conver- 
sations were as if she were preparing for an earthly journey. 
They joined in singing some sweet songs, and she left many 
evidences of her Christian character. For five weeks Sunie's 
sufferings were intensely painful, and she then asked God 
to take her Home. While being purified in this furnace 
of affliction, spiritual gravitation was drawing her Heaven- 
ward, and at times, without any delirium, she would speak 
of seeing the loved ones gone before ; so she left the fra- 
grance of a sweet life as a heritage to those who lino-cr here. 



70 

"Lo! the prisoner is released, 
Lightened of her fleshly load ; 
Where the weary are at rest, 
She is gathered unto God. 

Borne by Angels on their wings, 
Far from earth the spirit flies, 
Finds her God r?nd sits and sings. 
Triumphing in Paradise." 

Thomas Gallaher was born January 20, 1800, died 
August 20, 1872. 

Elizabeth Wilhams Gahaher died July 21, 1884, aged 
66 years. She was kind, obliging and industrious, and con- 
sidered the comfort and happiness of others before her own. 
Sickness is a great test of character, and for six years she 
endured the excruciating pa'ns of rheumatism. 

Dr. Talmage says : " The most conspicuous thing on 
earth for God's eye and the eye of angels to rest upon is the 
invalid's chair or couch. Those who submissively endure 
afflictions and tortures will answer to the roll-call of the 
martyrs, rise to the martyr's throne, and wave the martyr's 
palm, in the Home where there shall be no more pain." 

" The applause of a good actor is due to him at what- 
ever scene of the play he makes his exit." He lives long 
who lives well. '' Like a thief in the night," the pale angel 
of death entered our home and another world-weary soul 
was taken Home. June 14, 1878, in his thirty-eighth year, 
James Blair Gallaher made his exit from life's stage. The 
Masonic chain was again broken and the silver cord severed 
that bound the mortal to the immortal. None excelled him 
in industry and philanthropy, and he left a large void in the 
world. He was an affectionate friend, possessed of a lively 
sense of humor, and fond of innocent amusements. He was 
essentially and necessarily a man of action, a brave soldier 
who was serevely wounded in battle, a useful citizen, and 



71 

gaVant as any knight of old — yet never married. After the 
death of his father, he assumed the responsibiHties of the 
home and tenderly cared for his invahd mother. He prac- 
ticed the principle that it is better for a man to ivear out than 
to nist out. Death relieved him of his sufferings, after six 
months of intense pain. 

After a lingering illness, on November 22, 1898, Lizzie 
Bradley Fox passed peacefully from this life. She had been 
a student of Robertsville Academy, and was admired for 
kindness and modesty. She gave her heart to Jesus and 
united with the church at the age of sixteen, and was a true 
child of the' King. On her twentieth birthday, September 
16. 1894, she and Dr. P. W. Fox were united in marriage, 
and resided at Beaver Ridge. She was the mother of two 
daughters, Lucile Agnes, new eight years of age, and resid- 
ing with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. S. Bradley, at 
Lonsdale ; and Lina May, who at the age of fifteen months 
had gone before to meet her mamma, after one year's sep- 
aration. 

In August, 1903, Dr. P. W. Fox, the father and hus- 
band, joined them in the Heavenly Home. By energy and 
perseverance he became well prepared to continue the prac- 
tice of his profession, yet his useful life ended when hope 
seemed brightest. In the midst of worldly success and ambi- 
tion he was warned by a thunderbolt from a clear sky that 
the world's sun was obscured by the shadow of death, but 
to emerge in the full light of God's eternal day. 

After three weeks of painful illness, Daisy B. Fox 
obeyed the message, " Come higher," and was escorted by 
angels to regions of peace and love. Her earthly home was 
the scene of devotion and solicitude that has rarely been 
surpassed. The -continual presence and skill of physicians 
were all in vain to restore the young sufferer until the Great 
Physician interposed and transformed her wearv soul into 



a celestial spirit. She was the peer of any who ever lived 
for personal magnetism and nobility of soul, and to know her 
was to love her. Although only twenty years old, she was 
prominent in religious and educational circles, and a popular 
teacher, so her friends anticipated for her a brilliant and 
useful future. The void in our hearts caused by her absence 
has never and can never be filled, yet' we must submit to the 
immutable decree and strive and hope for Heavenly recog- 
nition at the greatest reunion. The memory of her many 
kind words and acts reminds us that she was for a brief 
time among us, and we are incited to contemplate sublime 
ideas. She was district deputy president of the Rebekah 
Lodge at Beaver Ridge, and the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs 
assisted in the funeral services. 

Albert T. Gallaher. eldest son of D. H. and M. E. Galla- 
her, died November 25, 18S0, aged 18 years. He was one 
of the victims of the terrible poisoning affair near Kingston, 
at Col. James I. Dail's, when one of his daughters was mar- 
ried to Joel Hembree. Albert died as he had lived, a happy 
Christian. The noblest deed is the offering of a young life 
to God where it will be forever safe in His holy keeping and 
all Heaven rejoices at the gift. 

Joseph H. Gallaher, aged 26, died January 16, 1895, at 
his home in Hardin \'alley. He was a Christian and pre- 
pared for death. He has been sadly missed from the Jiojne 
here, but has gone to welcome the loved ones to the Eternal 
Home. 

Joe Hardin, son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Freeman, died 
April 15, 1902, aged two years. 

" God needed one more angel child 
Amidst His shining band, 
And so He bent with loving smile, 
And clasped onr darling's hand." 



73 

One sweet, sad voice ennobles death, 
And still for nineteen centuries saith, softly, 
" Ye meet again." 

In May, 1897. Will T. Christian, of Hardin Valley, 
joined his father and loved ones gone before. He was a 
young man of usefulness and promise and is sadly missed 
by many. The remaining children were again bereaved, 
when their mother, Anne Christian, was called froni the 
earth, in October. 1903. 

" Oh! who can tell of a mother's love? 
Who can measure, save God above? 
'And none can tell of a mother's loss. 
But those who bear that heavy cross." 

Daisy Gallaher Lackev, aged 24, died December i, 1893, 
at Garner, Texas. She professed religion in early life and 
joined the Cumberland P]-esbyterian Church at Russell's 
Chapel. She lived a pure, consistent Christian life, and by 
her daily walk, proved that she was a child of the King. In 
church and Sunday-school she filled her place well, but in 
her home-life she showed her brightest traits of character. 
Her home was made happy by her lovely disposition and 
Christian influence. The world is better by her life and by 
her sweet disposition she drew all to her and repelled none. 
She lived happily and made others happy. Her new friends 
in Texas, where she lived only one short year, mourn their 
loss as if they had known her all her life. During her illness 
she had the best medical aid, and attention from friends, but 
death claimed her and she exchanged her bridal robes for 
those of immortality. Those eyes now blind to earthly scenes 
are opened where tear-drops never more dim the eyes. In 
the Weatherford cemetery, as the sun sank behind the 
prairies, they laid her to rest — far from her home in 
" Sunny Tennessee," — away from kindred dear, where the 
wild flowers of Texas shall bloom on her lonelv o^rave. 



74 

In the summer of 1902, the husband, Dr. Charles W. 
Lackey, joined his bride in the Home where they await the 
coming of others to be present at the " Grand Reunion." 

April 6, 1895, the spirit of Aunt Sallie Hardin passed 
over the river and began its march with the chosen hosts of 
God in the Celestial City. She was 74 years of age, and was 
preceded seven years by her husband, James Hardin, a prom- 
inent and prosperous citizen of Hardin Valley. She had been 
for many years enlisted in the Army of the Lord — so con- 
quering the last enemy — she left the discords of earth to 
listen to Heavenly harmony. Seven years later, they were 
followed by their daughter. Laura Hardin Bogle. April 18, 
1902, after two weeks of intense suffering, she took her 
flight to the Home where sorrow, pain and death are felt 
and feared no more. From a worldly view we see nothing in 
death but decay, removal and absence — yet it is the key 
which unlocks the door of the King's Mansion. 

" An angel came with lightning speed, with death-dew 
on his ebon wing, and fanned the brow " of Sephie Crozier 
Cross until the sun of her earthly journey had set and her 
soul was released from the tenement of clay in which she 
had known much sorrow and suffering, to be forever free 
from pain and care. The death of a loved one should lead 
us to invite " Christ, the Man of Sorrows," to our homes, for 
it opens a window of Heaven and gives us a glimpse into the 
beyond. As we see them there we become more Heavenly- 
minded, and anticipate the peace and love of that reunion. 
Mrs. Cross was one of the most beautiful and accomplished 
women in East Tennessee, yet as earth's attractions vanish, 
those of Heaven should be more precious and esteemed. She 
was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and 
Rev. J. H. Henry delivered a grand sermon on " Death," 
referring with tear-dimmed eyes to the noble mother who lay 
in the casket before the altar. 



75 

June 24, 1900, she was joined by her son, Sam C. Cross, 
who was injured while smoothing some ground with a roller, 
and he survived the fatal accident only two weeks. While 
none apprehended a serious result. Sam himself chose the 
wiser part and prepared for the worst. He delayed not the 
gift to Jesus of his only true possession — his undivided 
heart — making the complete surrender all alone with Jesus ; 
then, requesting the presence of ministers and other Chris- 
tians, he conducted an impressive Divine service, when he 
warned his associates to be also ready. After this he lost no 
opportunity to tell the " sweetest story," and truly he was 
an evangel'. " Oftentimes a subtler sense informs some 
spirits of the approach of things to be," so gradually he sank, 
and went Home. The sad funeral was held in the presence 
of many weeping friends, and the beautiful young form was 
deposited in the grave to await the Resurrection. 

Death pitched his tent in another home and stretched 
out his icy hand and plucked a flower. The spirit of Willie, 
daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Theo. Sienknecht, fled from the 
earth in September, i8g6. She was the sunshine of the home 
and admired by many for her cheerful and friendly disposi- 
tion. One of the saddest features of the bereavement was 
that three of her sisters were confined to their beds with fever 
and could not attend the fvmeral. 

April 9, 1901, the immortal soul of Sallie Watson Burns 
took its flight to the God who gave it. She had reached the 
age of 71, and had lived a Christian more than forty years 
when her summons came, after an illness of only nine days 
of pneumonia fever. She manifested a peaceful reconcilia- 
tion to the Divine will and assured the sorrowing ones of 
Heavenly reunion if they too continue faithful. 

The announcement on April 15, 1903, of the tragic death 
of A. N. Adams at Wheat created a profound sensation 
throughout the countrv and was received with sincere regret. 



76 

We are again reminded of the certainty of death, which 
often comes unexpected in both time and manner. His love 
and protection to his wife and young children ended abruptly 
and so soon, for he was only 33 years of age, in life's pride 
and valor's noon. Their loss is mourned with fond regret, 
but they weep not as those who have no hope, for he loved 
the Lord and desired to serve Him. 

We have heard him testify of his faith and request the 
pravers of the Christians for his mother before she believed 
and trusted Jesus. In 1898, during a glorious revival con- 
ducted by Rev. U. S. Thomas and others, his mother, after 
repentance and many prayers for mercy, was happily con- 
verted when Nute was by her side rejoicing. He was con- 
verted and joined the church when quite young, and was a 
constant attendant upon divine services, where he delighted 
to praise God in song: " Love of the Saviour" and " Christ 
Receiveth Sinful Men " were two of his favorites. 

He was a useful citizen, having served the county as 
an officer, and was one of the most active and beneficial 
members of the A. K. L. Society at Roane College. He was 
a member of East Fork Lodge Xo. 460, F. & A. M., where 
he filled different offices creditably and honorably. 

The impressive funeral services were held in the Baptist 
Church in the presence of a large crowd, and he was buried 
with Masonic honors. 

The following lines express thfe sentiments of his esti- 
mable widow : 

" I know thou hast gone where love has renounced 
The stain it had gathered in this. 

I know thou hast drunk of the Lethe that flows 
Through a land where they do not forget. 

That sheds over memory only repose, 
And takes from it only regret. 



77 

And though, like a ' mourner who sits by a tomb,' 

T am wrapped in a mantle of care, 
Yet the grief of my bosom — Oh ! call it not gloom, — 

Ts not the black grief of despair. 

By sorrow revealed, as the stars are by night. 

Far off a bright vision appears, 
And hope, like the rainbow, a being of light. 

Is born, like the rainbow, in tears." 

Lttcinda Jones, wife of Rev. George Jones, died of 
paralysis November 6. 1900, aged 64 years. She had been 
a member of the Baptist Chtirch for forty-seven years, and 
her funeral was the first service held in the George Jones 
Memorial Church. She conquered the last enemy and 
crossed over the river and anchored beyond this vale of tears, 
three years before her husband. Rev. George Jones, who was 
at the table eating his dinner when he dropped dead from his 
seat like a bird from its perch. October 15, 1903, at his home. 
Wheat, Tennessee. He had been afflicted with heart disease 
for a year, alternately better and worse. On the day he died, 
mistaking the approach of death for returning health, he said 
he was better. Death was wi.hout a pain and the grave with- 
out a terror, for he lived in the constant expectaion of death. 
He stood and calmly waited, to hear the keel upon the shore 
to bear him across the dark river. We never knew a man 
who seemed to dread death less. He said: " Death is only 
transition ; the grave, the gateway to perpettial and higher 
life." " Uncle George " was /T^ years of age, and was born 
near where he died. He became a Christian wdiile young, 
and was a minister of the Baptist Church, ordained in 1870. 
He was a man of broad patriotism and unfaltering Christian 
fidelity. The world was his country ; to do good, his religion. 
As a public-spirited man and philanthropist he was without 
a rival ; a character in whom were nobly blended the best 
elements of human nature. He had no children of his own, 



78 

but many boys struggling to gain a foothold on the slippery 
shores of life, owe their success to the encouragement from 
" Uncle George." He was the leading founder of Roane 
College, Wheat, Tennessee, and was president of the board 
of trustees until his death. He contributed the principal 
funds and superintended the erection of the church which is 
a in cm or ia!, bearing his name. Before his death he be- 
queathed the remainder of his estate to this church and 
turned the most of it over to the trustees. 

IMart Wilkey died suddenly of rheumatism of the heart 
one Sunday morning in 1891. He retired Saturday night in 
his usual health, with the exception of slight rheumatic pains, 
but was found dead, having expired before he could call for 
help. He was in his seventy-fifth year. — one of the oldest 
citizens of Kingston. 

Her husband had preceded her one week, when Lutitia 
Wilkey died, after a lingering illness ; not knowing of his 
death, she realized no separation. She was 74 years old, and 
had the satisfaction of knowing her labors were not in vain, 
for she left a well-trained and interesting family of children 
and grandchildren. 

Thus the twain, united for half a century on earth, were 
reunited in the better world after a week's separation. For 
one month unconscious much of the time, and hovering be- 
tween life and death, she passed away without knowing her 
husband had gone before. 

Hugh Martin, Sr., after a lingering illness, departed this 
life at his home in Kingston, on September 27, 1893, in his 
fifty-seventh year. He had been a member of the Presby- 
terian Church for more than thirty years, and the wisdom 
and ability which he exercised in aid of religion, by counsel, 
work and funds, is held in grateful remembrance. 

In less than two years his wife, Sallie Center Martin, 
joined him in their eternal Home, where they await their 



children and friends who remain in this world of change and 
sorrow'. 

Sarah Louise Wardlaw. of Shelbyville. Tennessee, died 
March 23, 1897, aged 65. The immediate cause of her death 
was the second stroke of paralysis. She was the widow of 
Rev. T. D. Wardlaw. deceased, who was recognized as the 
finest classical scholar and most learned member of the 
Southern Presbytery. Mrs. Wardlaw's Christian character 
was impressed on all her acquaintances. 

Edgar Walton, only son of Rev. and Mrs. J. H. Henry, 
died suddenly February 26. 1894. of rheumatism of the heart. 
He was a genial, promising young man, manly in his way, 
though only a boy in years, 16. When his death occurred 
like an untimely ■f'"ost, there was much grief and many tears, 
but they wept not as those who have no hope, for Edgar had 
asked the loving and compassionate Saviour to have mercy. 
Again we are warned to be ready for the Angel of Death in 
youth or age. 

Arminta Ladd Carmichael died November 18, 1891, in 
her twenty-fifth year. She patiently endured a continued ill- 
ness, then quietly and calmly pillowed her head on a loving 
Saviour's arm, and as she breathed her last, whispered softly 
to her husband. " Meet me there." She had high conceptions 
of the Christian religion and died as she had lived, loving 
and trusting' Jesus. Those who knew her best loved her 
most. 

On July 2. 1890, Addie L. Cox, wife of Charles E. Cox, 
died after an illness of six months, aged 26 years. Thev had 
been married little more than three years, and at the age of 
nine months their babe was left without a mother, the sweet- 
est and dearest friend on earth. She was resigned to the 
Lord's will and her last words were to her husband : " I 
regret to leave you and my baby, but there will be a wav 
provided for you. Be a good man and see to training our 



80 

chikl in the rii:^ht way ; take him to church and Sunday- 
school. The thought of death does not excite me, I am 
ready to go." 

A. B. Alexander died of typhoid fever at his home in 
Kingston, where he was a popular druggist and useful citi- 
zen. He was a devoted Christian and a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Churcli. South. He left a wife and 
little daughter, who did not then understand the loss of a 
kind and loving father. 

Sallie Butler Crowder died May 27, 1899, in her thirty- 
ninth year. She was converted and joined the church at the 
age of thirteen, and was a noble mother, modest lady and 
devoted Christian. After a long illness, when strength was 
almost exhausted, she called her family around her and said 
she would perhaps die before morning. Kissing all goodbye, 
she admonished them to meet her in Heaven, exclaiming, 
" 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus," and requested the hymn 
simg, and that they join with her in prayer. She exclaimed: 
" I can almost see Heaven; I will watch and. wait for you 
all," and quietly sank until she went to live with God. May 
all the relatives meet her again where sickness and death are 
imknown. 

Col. Henry I. \A'elcker died at the age of 80. He was 
a prominent and useful citizen, esteemed for his honesty, and 
by his industry becan.ie possessed of many comforts and 
luxuries, Init all could not stay the hand of death. Again 
we are reminded of the Divine injunction: "Be ye also 
ready." His remains were interred at Kingston, with 
Masonic honors. 

Rufus Wilson, of Loudon County, died suddenly of 
heart failure. He had been to the field directing some work, 
and on returning to the house fell dead. Thus a prominent 
citizen passed away. 

Tobias Peters passed peacefully from this life April 14, 



•81 

1900, ag'cd 80 years. Through many trials and vicissitudes 
he marched to the eventide of Hfe, basking in the mellow 
radiance of venerable old age. While in apprehension of 
speedy dissolution, he read his Testament nearly through. 
He was a useful citizen and faithful Christian. 

John G. Bruce died October 13, 1S91, yet their invalid 
mother remained to pray to God to bless and guide her eight 
fatherless children. Death soon came again, and on January 
3, 1892, the mother died, when the younger children were 
cared for in the" Masonic Orphans' Home." 

Maggie Burns Burkhalter died October 3, 1890. She 
was a Christian, and left bright hopes that she has gone to 
Heaven. When almost seized by the pangs of death, she 
tried to shout praises to the Redeemer and asked the friends 
who surrounded her to meet her in Heaven, exclaiming, " I 
am going to meet papa.'' After two years she was followed 
by her little daughter, Mamie Myrtle, of only four summers. 
She was stricken with diphtheria and lived only live days. 

Oma Cormany, of Kingston, Tennessee, died July 21. 
1900. She became a Christian in her thirteenth year, and 
had just passed her nineteenth birthday and seemed to be 
emerging into the zenith of Christian usf^fulness when the 
summons came. From the beginning of her Christian life 
she took up the cross and was a faithful worker and constant 
attendant upon religious services. Her influence for good 
survives her, and the world is better by her life — yet she 
was taken in the bloom of youth. 

Mollie M. Lee died October 14, 1895, after having been 
a great sufferer for many months, when all the powers and 
talents of the most skilled' physicians in Tennessee were ex- 
hausted in her behalf. She was born in Virginia, but her 
parents moved near Scarboro, Tennessee, where she died and 
was buried. She left this world in the full triumph of a 
living faith, having, given her heart to God eleven vears. 



82 

before the close of her earthly life. She had been a student 
of Carson and Newman College, but graduated with honors 
at Sweetwater Seminary in May, 1890. She was industrious 
and accomplished, a successful and popular teacher who had 
an ambition to do all in her power for God and humanity. 
She never mourned nor complained, but endured her suffer- 
ings calmly, and regarded death as rest to her soul. 

John Lee, son of Moses G. Lee, died in 1898, in his 
thirty-fifth year. While hauling baled hay piled so high that 
he was seated beyond the reach of the brake, in going down 
hill he was unable to check the momentum, and was pitched 
off between the wagon and horses, when two wheels of the 
wagon passed over his body, crushing and mangling him so 
that he died on the fourth day from the effects of the injuries. 

Their father, Moses G. Lee, an aged and esteemed citi- 
zen, died in December, 1903, at his home, Scarboro, Tenn. 

Mary W. Chrisenberry departed this life and entered 
into rest April 7, 1901, in her seventy-fifth year. From the 
cradle to the grave her life was one of continuous labor and 
arduous trials. Her husband preceded her twenty-seven 
years, and since his death she seemed more than ever devoted 
to her children, and we believe in the home of the soul is a 
rich reward for faithful and devoted Christian mothers. She 
had been a consistent member of the church for fifty-nine 
years, so we surely can trust such a one in the hands of a 
just and merciful God. 

Annie Maude and Willie Chrisenberry were called 
Home in 1899. 

" Two little angels now on high, 

They hand in hand together roam, 
Two links now bind us to the sky, 
Two spirits beckon us to come." 

August 16, 1902, after a long, painful illness, the soul 
of G, W. Carmichael passed into the great beyond. In 



83 

November, 1896, he had been for a week a penitent at the 
blood-bought mercy seat, when serene smiles of faith and 
hope beamed from his countenance and the faithful few 
realized that the services at the Chapel during unfavorable 
weather had not been in vain. All medical aid failed to give 
relief and his agonies were most pathetic during his last 
hours. Alas ! for the cry of widowhood and orphanage. 

In March, 1903, his widow, Mary Smith Carmichael 
■died of pneumonia. 

" .A. motherless group, with aching hearts, 
A new, fresh grief as each day departs ; 
Nothing remains save a deep, black pall 
And mocking echoes through room and hall, — 
Echoes of earth on a coffin-lid. 
Thoughts of a face forever hid, 
Shafts of pain that pierce and rend. 
Sobbing farewells to their best friend." 

The old Carmichael home was noted for its hospitality, 
and the entertainment received there is gratefully remem- 
bered by friends and strangers. The older members of this 
family have passed from the trials into the rewards of Chris- 
tian hospitality. 

On July 14, 1893, while George and Charlie Shelton 
were heaping hay in a meadow with steel pitchforks, they 
were struck by lightning, which instantly killed the elder 
brother George, and felled the latter senseless to the ground, 
and he recovered and still lives. George, who received the 
fatal stroke, was noble and kind, and a useful member of the 
church and Sunday-school. 

Lewis Smith was instantly killed by lightning while 
harvesting wheat in June, 187S. 

Arthur Peak, aged 22, who had been working in a field 
in Gallaher's Bend, Clinch River, during an electric storm, 
was struck by a bolt of lightning and instantly killed, July 2, 



84 

1896. His mother, Lucy ('lailaher Peak, died March 4, 1884, 
at Robertsville, Tenn. 

Lieutenant Robert S. Triplett, of the Third Tennessee 
Volunteers, died in camp at Anniston, Ala., September 18, 
1898, of meningitis. He was buried in the beautiful ceme- 
tery at Oliver Springs, Tenn., where his mother keeps his 
grave green and beautiful with flowers. A tablet to his 
memory is in the chapel of the Science Hall, University of 
_y^ T ennessee, where he was a cadet. He was a cousin of 
^ Ad jutant^eneraF- Hannah, and exceedingly popular. He 

!^^^ was only twenty-four years old. and his untimely death is 

lamented by all who knew him. 

FAMILY REUNION. 
By J. B. Tadi.ock. 
All gathered 'round the old homestead, 
Where all had lived, but two were dead ; 
Children and grand, thirty, numbering all, 
Upon old home and me did call. 

Their pictures they had met to take. 
Singing and merriment to make. 
The artist here was on that day, 
To show old home when far away. 

The children passed the day in glee. 
And happy, I was glad to see ; 
Blind on the paths they had to tread. 
The thorns and griefs they did not dread. 

But mother, sister, cold and dead, 
Some gloomy thought around them spread ; 
They were not here to smile and kiss. 
Oh! what a void at home to miss! 

Strange mothers here may come and be, 
But mother here you'll never see ; 
Yes, others soon this home will hold, 
And in the grave. I'll soon be cold. 



85 

How strange to you this home will be, 
When / am gone, this change you'll see ; 
Some lonely evening you'll pass by, 
And heave a lone and bitter sigh. 

Yes, lovely home and fleeting day, 
Like flying clouds, will pass away ; 
And strangers' children here will sing, 
And carry water from the spring. 

The stranger then the field will plow, 
Some other maid will milk the cow ; 
You then may look the farm around — 
In all the fields I'll not he found. 

You know not now how you will feel, 
Your heart will ache, while tear-drops steal ; 
A long farewell you'll sigh and say, 
" Perhaps in Heaven we'll meet some day.'' 

Swift passed the hours and soon the day. 
And / at home was left to stay; 
When all was o'er and all done. 
The sighing breeze and lingering sun, 

Both seem a farewell hymn to sigh, 
And say that earthly joys soon must die; 
This shady home and leafy bower. 
Will leave me in some fleeting hour. 
Robertsville, Tenn., July lo, 1894. 

The author of this poem, John B. Tadlock, was called 
Home in September, 1903, and his relatives and friends 
realize the truths of the preceding verses. 

A poem on the death of Willie Anna Keebler, written 
by her grandfather, J. B. Tadlock : 

Father, mother, you need not cry, 
I'm gone to live in the Home on high ; 
My grave with flowers there you spread. 
And left me with the lonely dead, 



86 

There flowers fade upon the tonih, 
But flowers here eternal bloom ; 
Among these blooming fields I roam, 
And would not go back to your home. 

Down there you say onr streets are gold — 
The half of Heaven was never told; 
Diamonds and gold you prize there, 
Such dross we value not Jierc. 

Here I'm free from care and pain, 
Which never will reach my home again ; 
No more I'll meet you at your home. 
But Heavenly streets tcr soon will roam. 

I care not for your fading flowers, 

They pass within a fleeting hour ; 

Your banks will break, your stores will burn, 

And earthly goods to dust will turn. 

My body is sleeping in the tomb, 
No more I'll walk your halls and room; 
Cold snows and ice lay on my breast, 
But with my Saviour I'm at rest. 

The thundering train can't wake my sleep, 
Nor storm}^ winds aown mountains sweep; 
So farewell to father and mother ! 
A sweet good-bye to sister and brother! 

When God shall keep you there no more, • 
I'll meet you at the Heavenly door ; 
With longing eyes for you I'll wait, 
And lead you through the pearly gate. 

Ill memory of Cora, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sevier 
Tadlock. 

Our Cora's dead — a doleful sound. 
For her dear form lies under the ground. 
" In cold clay now my body lies. 
Till the last trump shall rock the skies, 



87 



My body here must lie in gloom. 
The owl at night scream o'er my tomb. 
The storms may rock the forest bough, 
The farmer o'er my breast may plough. 

You ne'er will hear my bitter cry. 
The sun and moon shall sail the sky, 
And by your side I'll never stay, 
Nor shall I near your cottage play. 

I heard the sigh, I saw the tear. 
Therefore I would not stay one year ; 
I did not come oh earth to stay, 
I dashed the bitter cup away. 

Its bitter dregs I would not drink. 
So I stood on Jordan's brink ; 
I saw your fields in green arraj'ed, 
But very soon I saw them fade. 

The serpent hissed among your bowers, 
I saw the thorn among your flowers ; 
My little cradle now is still, 
Which on earth I never shall fill. 

Father, mother^ do not weep, 
I'm only going Home to sleep; 
At Heaven's gate I'll take my stand. 
Hoping there to see you land." 

--J. B. Tadlock. 



]n the Garden of Earth fair was growing 
A beautiful bud ; when the frost 

Touched the petals, all radiant and glowing- 
The garden its treasure had lost. 

Then the King of the country leane'd over 
And caught the sweet rose to His breast; 

How soon shall its beauty recover 
In Elysian Isles of the Blest. 



88 

Child-nature, the purest, the rarest. 

Wherever on earth it is seen, 
The noblest, the brightest, the rarest, 

Are marks for Death's arrows so keen. 

But she's left ev'ry sorrow behind her. 

Sweet Willie, so fair to our sight. 
The chains of earth's sin can- not bind her — 

O, fortunate Seraph of Light ! 

Dear mother, so sorrowfully weeping. 

This message of love is for thee:. 
Thy darling seems silently sleeping. 

Yet her spirit is gladsome and free. 

The soul which was lent thee, not given, 
To its home with the angels has flown. 

For " Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven," 
And God will take care of His own. 

— Mrs. A. B. Tad lock. 

George W, Hembree died of paralysis, Febrtiary lo, 
1900, aged 50 years. He never ftilly recovered from a stroke 
of paralysis first suffered by him in May, 1899. However, 
he had considerably improved, and hopes were entertained 
that he might possibly live for many years, but the dreaded 
malady renewed its attack, this time bringing death in its 
icy grip. Thus lay in the presence of loved ones the lifeless 
and manly form of the husband, father and friend. In a 
beautiful tribute to his memory, from East Fork Lodge, 
where he had been a Master Mason twenty years, we quote 
the, following: 

" The duty assigned to us is both pleasing and sad ; 
pleasing in that we have an opportunity of presenting a fezv 
of the many virtues and good qualities of our departed 
brother, and sad in that he is no more with us, and that we 
shall never more hear from him words of admonition, warn- 
ing and encouragement. The Grand Master has called our 



89 

brother from labor to rest : his work completed, his Sabbath 
of eternity has begun. Truly the bereaved ones may look 
back upon his life with, real and affectionate pride ; he was 
gentle, kind and amiable to a remarkable degree, winning 
the friendship and affection of all with whom he associated. 
Measured by the rules of ^Masonry, we do not hesitate to call 
our brother grcal. ]\Iasons ever rejoice in the elevated char- 
acter of their members, and it is profoundly gratifying to 
them to be able to refer to such a man while living and say : 
/He is one of us,' and when dead to refer to his life as an 
example, and embalm his .memory in our hearts. After the 
impressive ceremonies of our craft, his mortal remains were 
consigned to mother earth, to sleep that calm, sweet sleep 
which comes to those only who walk uprightly. There we 
leave him till his hope shall end in sweet fruition, and on 
the glorious morning of the resurrection his body rises im- 
nwrtal as his soul." 

" The Lord's ways are not as our ways," and the dis- 
pensations of His providence are mysterious to us. One by 
one earth is made less desirable and Heaven more longed 
for. January 28, 1904, our esteemed and beloved physician, 
L. N. Holioway, of Wheat. Tennessee, awoke in the pres- 
ence of the King in the Holy City to sing the new song, 
never more to suff'er pain or know sorrow. F'or more than 
a year he had been a great sufferer from rheumatism, but 
partially recovered, and hopes were entertained for complete 
restoration of his health. January 5, 1904, he was stricken 
with fever and became unconscious a few days before his 
death. There remain his wife, four daughters, one son, his 
aged mother, relatives and a host of friends to mourn their 
loss. He was a native of Rhea County, but practiced his 
profession for more than a quarter of a century in Roane 
County, where he has been instrumental in the Lord's ser- 
vice in comforting and restoring the sick and suff'erinef. Dr. 



90 

Holloway walked " In His Steps," for he went about doing 
good, often exposing' himself to unfavorable weather, that 
he might relieve pain and sickness. He who suffers for the 
good he does to others, and if it prove his death, is a hero 
■ indeed. The shadows make the sunlight brighter and more 
glorious, the frailties of the man exalt the perfections of 
God. We realize that perfection is never attaine'^1 by 
frail humanity, for were man perfect our race would be a 
race of Gods. May his weeping relatives remember that 
death is the door which opens to us immortality, and is not 
the worst of all evils when it is an alleviation to mortals 
who are worn out with sufferings, and the physician of him 
whom medicine can not cure. 

His wife is a most estimable v.'oman. and by their united 
industry and perseverance, made their home one of happi- 
ness, comfort and hospitaliiy. The sweetest consolation to 
the bereaved is, he not only laid up treasures on earth, but 
he laid up treasures in Heaven, whence came his beloved 
children, Maude Ethel and Benjamin, as ministering spirits, 
and accompanied his redeemed soul to Paradise. His life has 
been a blessing, and may his death be a solemn warning to 
all to be prepared to meet God in peace and join the ran- 
somed spirits in the realm? of eternal glory. He had been 
a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for many 
years, and was buried with Masonic honors. 

■' He did not speak evil of men : if he had nothing good 
to say, he said nothing at all." 

vSuccessively for three years the home of ]\Ir. and Mrs. 
John Montgomery was shaken by the storms of life, when 
three flowers were plucked to be transplanted into the Gar- 
den of Paradise. 

" Sorrows brood upon blackened wing, 
Death has come with his cruel sting; 
Hearts are bleeding, pleading and crushed. 
While rooms are darkened and voices hushed." 



91 

In his twenty-fourth year, Septeml^er 12, 1900, John C. 
Montgomery died, after a brief ihness. 

Having passed her twentieth birthday. Elizabeth Mont- 
gomery died, September 23, 1901. 

Just one vear a bride, in her twenty-fourth year, on 
August 25, 1902, Annie Montgomery Russell exchanged her 
wedding garments for the robes of immortality. 

These were three servants of God who were not 
ashamed to bear the yoke and acknowledge Him Master. 
Peace, love, patience and meekness characterized their spirits 
and their most expressive and beautiful qualities were their 
religious lives. Religion is everywhere essential to success 
in the home, store, bank, and in the great business affairs of 
the world. Having followed the Lord with incessant vigi- 
lance, undiminished devotion to duty, and unshaken faith. 
Death appeared to them young and beautiful, accompanied 
by the sweetest angels and glorified spirits, who bore them 
on their pinions to the beautiful Home above. 

Tribute to Beulah Elizabeth, daughter of W. T. and 
Annie Russell : 

This lovely bud, so young and fair, 

Called hence by early doom, 
Just came to show how sweet a flower 

In paradise would bloom. 

Ere sin could harm or sorrow fade, 

Death came with friendly care, 
The opening bud to Heaven conveyed 

And bade it blossom there. 

November 29, 1899, death invaded the home of Dr. 
R. P. Eaton and made the first break in the famil}' circle 
by claiming his wife, after a painful suffering of nineteen 
weeks. Cornelia N. Eaton was 61 years of age, and had 
been a Christian since her girlhood. Her disposition was 



92 

as sweet as her character was strong. For the gentle in- 
fluence and self-sacrifices of her life, her memory is cher- 
ished. She w-as one of nature's gentlewomen, noble in her 
impulses, democratic in her opinions, hospitable in her home, 
careful and frugal in the conduct of the household, which 
was an ideal one, made so by the reigning spirit of her self- 
control, her wonderful will-power and undaunted energy. 
Charitable in words and deeds, she was beloved of all, and 
many considered it a great pleasure to be a pensioner upon 
the store of her advice and direction. The hands that 
labored in industry and smoothed the wrinkles of care and 
anxiety with a loving touch are now cold and motionless, 
but the memory of her influence is a monument more en- 
during than marble, and like the circle of flowers that were 
deposited with her in the tomb, as sweet as it is endless. 

The mother is gone, " the queen-chair is empty, and 
death overshadows the home. But through the gloom a 
radiance comes — 'tis a sun-burst from the crest of Golgotha, 
where the cross stands — an ever-directing sentinel pointing 
us to Heaven." 

This is the land of the dying, so through death we enter 
the real land of. the living. In November, 1902, Dr. A. C. 
Brasel, of Petros, died, after a brief illness of typhoid fever. 
He was a popular young physician, and the future seemed 
inviting for success in his profession, but he has gone where 
he knows more than ever of the science of health. His life 
was short, but a success, for he cultivated the spiritual as 
well as the material side of his being. 

In January, 1892, in his sixty- fourth year, A. J. Burum 
died, at his home at Wheat, Tennessee. He was a devoted 
husband, kind father and obliging neighbor, preferring the 
happiness of others to his own. His family was the great 
object of his life, and for them he spent all his physical, 
intellectual and relisrious energies. He was a charter mem- 



93 

ber of East Fork Lodge, F. & A. M., and they prepared a 
beautiful tribute to his memory. His daughter, Alice, pre- 
ceded him Home nine years, she being only twenty-five years 
old. His widow and younger children joined the older ones 
in California in October, 1892. where they all now reside. 

Frank P. Burum died September 13, 1896, aged 34. 
He was the third of that family called Home to glory. He 
was converted and joined the church when quite young. 
His Christian experience was not always the brightest, yet 
he never denied the faith nor fell into doubt. ]\Iany months 
before his death he was greatly revived, and mingled his 
voice in the prayer and praise of God's people, and passed 
over the river in triumphant faith. Heaven has another 
attraction, and seems nearer and brighter than ever. While 
we mourn his death, we realize that Christ and His holy 
angels and the loved ones gone before welcomed him Home. 
May his two sons and all the relatives be encouraged to hope 
on. 

One by one earth's ties were broken when Wm. Staples, 
Sr., Nannie Staples Carter and Elizabeth Bradley Staples 
followed each other after brief intervals. Death again en- 
tered the Staples mansion on January 30, 1896, when the 
young husband was robbed by the remorseless enemy of his 
companion, Blanche Cross Staples. Less than three years 
before she entered that home a beautiful bride, possessed of 
wealth, social honors and religious influence, yet her life 
seems prolonged by good deeds. She was a noble, queenly 
woman, descended from old Southern families, and with that 
gentle grace of the South, she was ,a faithful and earnest 
worker in her ]\Iaster's vineyard. At Dossetts, near her 
father's home, she was the leader in the erection of the 
church on the hill where slie sleeps. She regarded death 
as the crown of life, and her earnest prayers and exhorta- 
tions are recalled bv manv. ]\Iav ]\Iarguerite, her beloved 



94 

daughter, be often reminded of her saintly mother and imi- 
tate her example. She has since been joined by her babe, 
and mother, Mattie McClellan Cross, where they await the 
grand reunion in the Celestial City. 

.Mortal life is the vestibule of immortal life, and r-^- 
ligion is necessary to train our souls for Heaven. They who 
early bow the knee and give their willing heart and service 
to the Lord possess imperishable riches. Lena Crawford 
Long triumphed in the thoughts of death, for she was pre- 
pared to meet that stern monarch of the grave. To her hus- 
band, children and friends the ordeal seems a grievous 
chastening, for " no chastening for the present seemeth to 
be joyous, but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth 
the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are 
exercised thereby." i\Iay the memory of her sweet influence 
inspire the husband and children to follow the footsteps of 
Jesus and meet their beloved, who with beckoning hands 
calls them to the Heavenly Home. She was a noble mothf x", 
and hoped against hope to remain with her three children 
and train their young lives for usefulness and Heaven, but 
God knev^ best, and took her to make the Eternal Home more 
attractiA'e to them and melt the frigid splendor of the con- 
ventional heaven into a domestic scene. May the bereaved 
be often reminded that their departed loved one has not gone 
into silence and unconsciousness, and that she awaits them 
in a home of beautiful architecture and magnificent fur- 
nishings, and will return wUh the angels to comfort their 
dying hour and accompany them Home. 

Her anxious husband employed the best medical aid, 
and she rallied strength sufficient to leave her home in 
Oliver Springs and go to Texas, where she remained awhile, 
thence they went to California, where she died. May 22, 
1900, aged 34. Her spirit took its flight and all that re- 



95 

mained to mortal view was deposited beside the tonib of 
her father, W. H. Crawford, near the " Peaceful Ocean." 

" If we entertain Christ in tlie person of His disciples in 
this world, when we pass up into the next country we shall 
meet Christ in a regal procession, and He will g'ive us a 
share of the riches of Heaven and extend to us grand, 
glorious and eternal hospitalities. Those entertainments 
excel in grandeur and munificence any given by the kings 
and rulers of earth.'' Lena Long v.'as charitable and hos- 
pitable, and her disposition was as sweet as her character 
was strong. 

RESOLUTIONS ON THE DEATH OF W. H. CRAWFOKD. 

Whereas, The sad news of the sudden death of Rev. 
William H. Crawford, which occurred on the night of 
August 7. 1891', came on the wings of the lightning from 
the Occident; and 

Whereas, Wc, his latest friends and neighbors for 
many years, acquainted with hinj in all the relations of life, 
believe it proper to bear testimony to our appreciation of the 
life, character and services of the great and good of earth, 
not only because it gives a sense of melancholy personal 
gratification and pleasure to us, but as an incentive to holy 
living for the young and rising generation, do hereby make 
this solemn declaration : 

Resolved, By the Board of Trustees of Roane College, 
that as a man he was one of the noblest works of God. He 
was venerable and possessed of great wisdom, goodness and 
virtue; as a citizen he was loyal, law-abiding and liberty- 
loving; as a neighbor he was cheerful, charitable and hos- 
pitable , as a father he was patient, persistent and pains- 
taking in the mental and moral training of his children ; as 
a husband he was considerate, indulgent, afifectionate, self- 
sacrificing, and his hearth was the home of every domestic 
virtue ; as a teacher, he instructed not onlv bv the grandest 



96 

precepts, but by the noblest examples ; the thoughtless, the 
heedless and the lawless were awed into order by the majesty 
of his matchless love ; as a Christian his life was an open 
epistle, to be read of all men He obeyed the divine injunc- 
tion by which to secure never-failing- fullness : " Seek first 
the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these 
things shall be added unto you." If any Christian grace 
more than another predominated his almost matchless char- 
acter, it was that he relied with implicit confidence in, and 
proved this priceless promise, for literally he took no thought 
for tomorrow what he should eat. or wherewithal he should 
be clothed, though poor indeed in material things, most like 
his noble Master, the lowly Nazarene, " who had not where 
to lay his head," but better far than this he was rich in what 
the worthlessness of this world's wealth can never give — 
rich in grace, gentleness and goodness, which had grown to 
live forever in the garden of God. " A great man has this 
day fallen in Israel." His life to the home circle, to society, 
to the state, to the church, has been a priceless example. 
To his children his life and love and example are an heritage 
of honor and crown of glory forever. 

Rev. Geo. Jones, President, 
W. T. Gai,i,aher, Secretary. 

To the U^crshipfnl Master, IJ^ardeiis and Brethren of Bast 
Fork Lodge No. 460. F. & A. M.: 

Your committee appointed at the regular meeting in 
August. 1891, to draft suitable resolutions in regard to the 
death of W. H. Crawford, would respectfully submit the 
following report : 

I. That we have not the language to express our feel- 
ings touching our regard to the hero, Rev. W. H. Crawford, 
who fell a victim to the ruthless hand of death August 5, 
1891, on the fruitful soil of California, far away from his 



97 

earthly home, but close to the home to which he had long 
since been aspiring, and to which he had pointed a multitude 
of others — some who had passed him in the Lane of Life, 
and scores more to follow ; in fact, the good influence will 
never cease. 

Brother Crawford was a Mason in the fullest accepta- 
tion of the term ; he possessed all those noble tenets that go 
to make up a Mason ; he was charitable, truthful, benevolent, 
firm, and ever ready to relieve the distressed, which is so 
characteristic of our faithful craft. Such a life as Brother 
Crawford's was, will be greatly missed, and his place as a 
Mason, minister. Christian, father, husband, teacher and 
neighbor hard to fill. In fact, Brother Crawford possessed 
some of those noble tenets that few persons ever attain. 
Therefore, be it 

Resolved, That while Brother Crawford's membership 
was elsewhere, yet he often affiliated with us ; was our 
brother in the mystic tie ; was a member of the noble order ; 
that we cherish the many pleasant visits and the wholesome 
instructions received from him. 

Resolved, further. That while we realize that he will 
never more meet us around our sacred altar in the earthly 
Lodge, nor counsel us in Lodge assemblies, yet we rely on 
the promises of that Book that serves as a guide to our faith 
and practice, believing that while our force on earth is dimin- 
ished, the number of the redeemed is swelled in the beautiful 
home of the soul, where all good Masons hope to meet l>y 
and by. 

H. B. Jones, 

M. R. Richmond, 

L. N. HOLLOWAY, 

Couimittee. 
He was a graduate of Washington College, under old 
Professor Doak, and ordained a minister of the Cumberland 



98 

Presbyterian Cluirch when only twenty years old, and for 
fifty }ears was engaged in educational and ministerial work 
in East Tennessee. Virginia and Georgia. He was president 
of Roane College for twelve years, and one of his assistant 
teachers says he never heard him speak evil of anvone. 
He squared his acts before all men. He resigned this posi- 
tion in May, tSqo, and went to California, where his weight 
changed from 125 to 175 potmds. He enjoyed fine health 
and spirits, and after arriving at manhood his life was 
singularly free from disease and infirmity. 

In September, 1891, he contemplated returning to Ten- 
nessee, . after Synod should meet in San Francisco. On 
Sunday. August 2, he preached in the morning, though feel- 
ing unwell. He attempted to preach again in the evening, 
but was so unwell he had to ask a minister who was present 
to conclude the service. He gradually improved until Wed- 
nesday the 5th, eating his accustomed meals and taking his 
usual exercise. While preparing for prayer meeting, one of 
the young men of the church suggested that as he had not 
entirely recovered perhaps lie had better remain at home. 
This he finally did, and soon after prepared to retire to his 
bedroom up stairs. Going to his room he soon returned for 
some water, and pleasantly passing back through the house, 
bade the old folks good night and played with the children. 
Warm and full of the fellowship of man, he passed into the 
society of God his Father and Elder Brother. He went up 
to his room and began to prepare for the night's sleep — the 
temporary rest for the body ; while doing so, alone with 
himself and God, he fell asleep until the morning of the 
first resurrection — the deep sleep of death ! Next morning, 
as he came not to his meal, a messenger was sent to call him. 
He was found, on the floor cold in death. He had not gone 
to bed. No noise had been heard. There was no evidence 
of a struggle. There the body lay, calm and serene, as if 



99 

he had wrapped the drapery of his couch about him and 
lain down to pleasant dreams. He died of apoplexy. The 
remains were moved by loving hands from Newman to 
^^'inters, California, and buried in the lot of his son-in-law, 
Rev. H. C. Culton, in the cemetery there. After a toilsome, 
self-sacrificing, noble Christian life, he sleeps well. 

Alemorial services w^ere held at Roane College, August 
13, 1891. The usual emblems of mourning and beautiful 
flowers were in front of the altar, but the most touching 
emblem was the vacant chair and walking cane. It was a 
solemn occasion when five of his children, Rev. J. R. Craw- 
ford. James and W. B. Craw^ford, Mrs. W. L. Welcker and 
Mrs. J. B. Long, assembled with many friends to reverence 
his memory. 

Rebecca Branson Douglas died August 13, 1895, aged 
50. She was a most noble Christian woman, and throughout 
her life and in her last moments gave the most positive proof 
of the consolations of the Christian hope. " Mother " is a 
word that binds all in the ties of universal brotherhood. 

Her husband, George W. Douglas, died October 18, 
1900, aged 69. Five children — Mrs. Geo. H. French, Mrs. 
Albert Allen, DeKalb, Elbert and Daisy Douglas — survive 
them. Another veteran of the Civil War has passed away. 
He was the first lieutenant of Company G, of the Eighth 
Tennessee Infantr}-. His regiment saw^ much hard service, 
and ]\Ir. Douglas was wounded thirteen times and lost a 
leg by the bursting of a shell near him, on August 6, 1864, 
at Utoy Creek, before Atlanta, Georgia. He was honorably 
discharged from service June 16, 1865, at Company Shops, 
North Carolina. He was prepared for the Grand Reunion 
in the Heavenly Home, and he sleeps in the National Ceme- 
tery, Knoxville. 

With the words, " God is calling me," D. L, Moodv 
passed to the higher life. 



L.ofC. 



100 

Sacred to the memory of Frank, son of W. H. and 
Maggie Browder: 

" I saw the young mother in tenderness bend 

O'er the couch of her slumbering boy, 
And she kissed the soft Hps as they murmured her name, 

While the dreamer lay smiling in joy. 
O ! sweet as the rosebud encircled with dew, 

When its fragrance is flung on the air, 
So fresh and so bright to that mother he seemed. 

As he lay in his innocence there. 
But I saw when she gazed on that same lovely form, 

Pale as marble, and silent and cold, 
But paler and colder her beautiful boy, 

When the tale of her sorrow was told. 

Chorus : 

But the Healer was there, who had stricken her heart. 

And taken her treasure away. 
To allure her to Heaven He had placed it on high. 

And the mourner will sweetly obey. 
There had whispered a voice, 'twas the voice of her God, 
'I love thee, I love thee! pass under the rod.'" 



JUN 17 1904 



